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Kalpitiya Fort – Dutch Colonial legacy By Arundathie Abeysinghe Constructed during the Dutch Colonial Era, Kalpitiya Fort had been designed in 1666 and completed in 1676. The walls of the Fort are approximately 4 meters (13 feet) high constructed with coral and limestone from the surrounding area. The Fort has a single entrance facing the lagoon with a pediment and a belfry above, similar to an entrance of a church, a unique feature. Kalpitiya Fort had been a remarkable icon during the Dutch Colonial Era. *Kalpitiya had been a renowned trading hub for Arab merchants. In the mid-16th century, the Portuguese had conquered Kalpitiya and renamed it as “Kardiv Island”. King Rajasinghe II (1608 – 1687) of the Kandyan Kingdom (Sri Lanka’s reigning monarch during this period) had sought assistance from the Dutch to secure the land from the Portuguese Colonials. Yet, after the Dutch invasion of the location, the ...