Galle is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, 119 km
from Colombo. Galle is the administrative capital of Southern
Province, Sri Lanka and is the district capital of Galle District. Galle is the
fifth largest city in Sri Lanka after the capital Colombo, Kandy, Jaffna and
Negombo. Galle was known as Gimhathiththa before
the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century, when it was the main port
on the island. Galle reached the height of its development in the 18th century,
during the Dutch colonial period. Galle is the best example of a fortified city
built by the Portuguese in South and Southeast Asia, showing the interaction
between Portuguese architectural styles and native traditions. The city was
extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century from 1649
onwards. The Galle fort is a world heritage site and is the largest
remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers.
Other prominent landmarks in Galle include the city's natural harbor, the
National Maritime Museum, St. Mary's Cathedral founded by Jesuit priests, one
of the main Shiva temples on the island, and Amangalla the historic luxury hotel.
On 26 December 2004 the city was devastated by the massive Tsunami caused
by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake that occurred a thousand miles away, off the
coast of Indonesia. Thousands were killed in the city alone. Galle is home
to a cricket ground, the Galle International Stadium which is
considered to be one of the most picturesque cricket grounds in the
world. The ground which was severely damaged by the tsunami, was rebuilt and
test matches resumed there on December 18, 2007.
Important natural geographical features in Galle include Rumassala in Unawatuna,
a large mound-like hill, which forms the eastern protective barrier to the Galle
harbour. Local tradition associates this hill with some events of Ramayana, one
of the great Hindu epics. The major river in the area is the Gin River,
which begins from Gongala Kanda and passes villages such as Neluwa, Nagoda,
Baddegama, Thelikada and Wakwella, reaches the sea at Ginthota. The river
is bridged at Wakwella by the Wakwella Bridge.
Etymology Galle was known as Gimhathitha, in
ancient times and the term is believed to be derived from the classical
Sinhalese term meaning "port near the river Gin". It is believed that the town
got its name as Gaalla in the native tongue as a result of the large number
of bullock carts that took shelter in the area, following the long slow
journeys from remote areas of the island. "Gaala" in Sinhala means the
place where cattle are herded together and hence the Sinhalese name for Galle,
ගාල්ල is a development from ‘Gaala’. Another theory is that the word Galle is
derived from the Dutch word ‘Gallus’ which means rooster. The Dutch have also
used the rooster as a symbol of Galle. History
According to James Emerson Tennent, Galle was the ancient seaport of
Tarshish, from which King Solomon drew ivory, peacocks and other valuables.
Cinnamon was exported from Sri Lanka as early as 1400 BC and the root of the
word itself is Hebrew, so Galle may have been a main entrepot for the spice.
Galle had been a prominent seaport long before western rule in the country.
Persians, Arabs, Greeks, Romans, Malays, Indians, and Chinese were doing business
through Galle port. In 1411, the Galle Trilingual Inscription, a stone tablet
inscription in three languages, Chinese, Tamil and Persian, was erected in Galle
to commemorate the second visit to Sri Lanka by the Chinese admiral Zheng He.
The "modern" history of Galle starts in 1502, when a small fleet of Portuguese
ships, under the command of Lourenço de Almeida, on their way to the Maldives,
were blown off course by a storm. Realising that the king resided in Kotte
close to Colombo Lourenço proceeded there after a brief stop in Galle.
In 1640, the Portuguese had to surrender to the Dutch East India Company. The
Dutch built the present fort in the year 1663. They built a fortified wall, using
solid granite, and built three bastions, known as "Sun", "Moon" and "Star".
After the British took over the country from the Dutch in the year 1796, they
preserved the Fort unchanged, and used it as the administrative centre of the
district. Climate
Galle features a tropical rainforest climate. The city has no true dry
season, though it is noticeably drier in the months of January and February. As
is commonplace with many cities with this type of climate, temperatures show
little variation throughout the course of the year, with average temperatures
hovering at around 26 degrees Celsius throughout.
Cityscape = Wards =
Galle has 15 wards: Governance
The Galle Municipal Council governs the City of Galle, established under the
Municipalities Ordinance of 1865. It was at the time, only the 3rd municipal
council in the country. The first mayor of the city was appointed in 1939 in the
person of Wijeyananda Dahanayake, who later went on to become the fifth Prime
Minister of Ceylon. The current Acting Mayor of Galle is
Kalum Seneviratne, who was appointed in 2012. The main vision of the city is
"Building of moderate city through the supply of relatively increased utility
services to the citizens who pay taxes to the Galle Municipal Council ". The
other vision is to brand Galle as "Green City-Green Galle" to create and promote
Galle as one of Sri Lanka's cool and healthy coastal cities with a clean
green canopy. Demographics
Galle is a sizeable city, by Sri Lankan standards, and has a population of 91
000, the majority of whom are of Sinhalese ethnicity. There is also a
large Sri Lankan Moor minority, particularly in the fort area, who
descend from Arab merchants that settled in the ancient port of Galle. Galle is
also notable for its foreign population, both residents and owners of holiday
homes. Education
= Schools = Galle is home to some of the oldest
leading schools in Sri Lanka: 29 government schools and 5 international
schools being part of the city's system. Some of the schools situated in Galle
city are listed below. = Universities =
Two main faculties of the University of Ruhuna are located in Galle. The Faculty
of Engineering is located at Hapugala about 6 km from the city center. The
faculty of Medicine is located at Karapitiya near the Karapitiya Teaching
Hospital. The Medical faculty is also located at about 5 km from the city
center.The Division of Allied Health Sciences of the University of Ruhuna is
located in Mahamodara in the city limits. A study centre of the Open
University of Sri Lanka is also located in Galle at Labuduwa junction.
Faculty of Engineering, University of Ruhuna
Faculty of Medicine, University of Ruhuna
Division of Allied Health Sciences,University of Ruhuna
Study Centre, Open University of Sri Lanka
Advanced Technological Institute labuduwa
= Higher Education Institutes = Advanced Technological Institute in
Labuduwa, Galle was started in year 2000 and it was planned to offer Higher
National Diploma in Information Technology - HNDIT and Higher National
Diploma in Agriculture Technology - HNDT. Since then Labuduwa ATI has been a
pioneer in technological education in Sri Lanka. National Institute of
Business Management in Galle was established in 2010 to provide higher
education opportunities in the fields of Information Technology and Business
Management.The Ruhunu National College of Education which is under the Ministry
of Education for novice teachers training for government schools in
Kurunduwatta,Galle.And also the Amarasooriya Teachers Training College
for government school teachers is in Unawatuna,Galle.
Advanced Technological Institute National Institute of Business
Management Ruhunu National College of Education
Amarasooriya Teachers Training College Merchantile Seaman Training
Institute(MSTI) Transport
Galle is served by Sri Lanka Railways' Coastal Line and is connected by rail to
Colombo and Matara. Galle Railway Station is a major station on the line,
and serve as the meeting point of the west-coast and south-coast segments of
the line. The A2 highway, which is commonly known as the Galle Road runs
through the city and connects Galle to Colombo by the west-coast portion, and
to Hambanthota by the south-coast portion. The Southern Expressway, Sri
Lanka's first E Class highway links the Sri Lankan capital Colombo with Galle
and currently reduces the time spent for travel to one hour from the three hours
taken by the regular A2 highway. Twin cities
The City of Galle is twinned with: Although not an official twin city,
Melbourne, Australia 'adopted' Galle after the 2004 tsunami disaster, funding
the reconstruction of its cricket ground, and providing financial and
other supports. Gallery
See also Galle Fort
Galle International Stadium Hikkaduwa
Unawatuna References
External links Galle Municipal Council
Old Town of Galle and its Fortifications, UNESCO World Heritage
Official website of the Sri Lanka Tourism Board