Star Fort Matara

Hiran Madushanka - Google

A fort with an interesting space of a star with six points where 12 large canons were set up to cover all the directions. The fort is surrounded by a twenty feet wide moat which still exists. There is a small museum inside, and worth a 20 - 30 minutes visit.

It is believed that this was the last defence post the Dutch managed to build in Sri Lanka, however they never had a chance to use it. They handed over the fort after surrendering to the British in 1796.

The six pointed fort has 7.5 meter wide walls, it was built to store food supplies and ammunition. Over the entrance there is an embossed logo of the Dutch East India Company, and the draw bridge leading to it still exists.

The main Dutch fort in Matara a few hundred meters away from the Star Fort was built in 1640. Sinhalese forces attacked the main fort and gained control over the area in 1762, but they could hang on to it, and the Dutch regained the fort in 1763. Following the attacked the Dutch built the Star Fort to withhold further attacks.