Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Galle


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
For the astronomer, see Johann Gottfried Galle.
For the French artist, see Émile Gallé.
for the town in Mali see Galle, Mali
Galle
View of the city from the sea side
View of the city from the sea side
Galle is located in Sri Lanka
Galle
Galle
Coordinates: 6°3′0″N 80°13′0″E/6.05°N 80.21667°E/6.05; 80.21667
Country Sri Lanka
Province Southern Province
Government
- Mayor
Area
- Total 1,652 km2 (637.8 sq mi)
- Land 1,617 km2 (624.3 sq mi)
- Water 35 km2 (13.5 sq mi)
Population (2001)
- Total 99,500
- Density 613/km2 (1,587.7/sq mi)
Time zone Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone (UTC+5:30)
Website Galle city website

Galle (ගාල්ල in Sinhala; காலி in Tamil) (pronounced as one syllable in English, /ɡɔːl/ "Gaul", and in Sinhalese IPA: [ɡaːlːə]) is a town situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. Galle was known as Gimhathiththa (although Ibn Batuta in the 14th century refers to it as Qali) 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. The major river is Gin River (Gin Ganga) which starts from Gongala Kanda and passing villages such as Neluwa, Nagoda, Baddegama, Thelikada, Wakwella and kisses the sea at Ginthota. In Wakwella over the river there is Wakwella Bridge which is the longest bridge in Sri Lanka.

Galle lies in Galle District.

On 26 December 2004 the city was devastated by the massive Boxing Day 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 the best example of a fortified city built by Europeans in south and southeast Asia, showing the interaction between European architectural styles and south Asian traditions. The Galle fort is a world heritage site and the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers. Other prominent landmarks in Galle include St. Mary's Cathedral founded by Jesuit priests, one of the main Shiva temples on the island, and The Amangalla, a historic luxury hotel.

Galle is the main town in the most southerly part of the island, with a population of around 100,000, and is connected by rail to Colombo and Matara. It is home to a cricket ground, the Galle International Stadium, rebuilt after the 2004 tsunami. Test matches resumed there on December 18, 2007.

Rumassala Kanda is a large mound-like hill, which forms the eastern protective barrier to the Galle harbour. Local tradition associates this hill with some events of the Ramayana.

Old Town of Galle and its Fortifications*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Fort: View of the lighthouse
State Party Sri Lanka
Type Cultural
Criteria iv
Reference 451
Region** Asia-Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription 1988 (10th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
** Region as classified by UNESCO.

Contents

[hide]

[edit] History

Sri Lanka with Galle
Mosque
The beauty of Galle countryside, Wakwella with Sri Lanka's longest bridge on the river Gin

According to James Emerson Tennent, Galle was the ancient seaport of Tarshish, from which King Solomon drew ivory, peacocks and other valuables. Certainly, 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.[citation needed]

Galle had been a prominent seaport long before western rule in the country. Persians, Arabs, Greeks, Romans, Malays and Indians were doing business through Galle port. The "modern" history of Galle starts in 1505, when the first Portuguese ship, under Lourenço de Almeida was driven there by a storm. However, the people of the city refused to let the Portuguese enter it, so the Portuguese took it by force.

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 Galle.

New Galle Mayor is Mr. Methsiri de Silva, appointed 2008.12.04.

[edit] Demographics

Galle is a sizeable town, by Sri Lankan standards, and has a population of 91,000, the majority of whom are of Sinhalese ethnicity; there is a large Sri Lankan Moor minority who descend from Arab merchants that settled in the ancient port of Galle.

Ethnicity Population % Of Total
Sinhalese 66,114 72.71
Sri Lankan Tamils 989 1.09
Indian Tamils 255 0.28
Sri Lankan Moors 23,234 25.56
Other (including Burgher, Malay) 342 0.38
Total 90,934 100

Source: 2001 Census

[edit] Universities

Faculty of engineering, Galle

Two main faculties of University of Ruhuna are located in Galle. Faculty of Engineering is located at Hapugala about 5 km from the city center. The faculty of Medicine is located at Karapitiya near the Karapitiya Hospital.

  • Faculty Of Engineering visit
  • Faculty of Medicine visit


[edit] Schools

Galle Fort aerial view from the south

[edit] Twin cities

Galle Cricket Ground

The City of Galle is twinned with:

Although not an official twin city, Flag of Australia Melbourne, Australia 'adopted' Galle after the 2004 tsunami disaster, funding the reconstruction of its cricket ground and providing financial and other support, including a mobile library.

[edit] Maps

Gin Ganga
— River —
Skyline of Gin Ganga

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Galle


Coordinates: 6°02′02.97″N 80°12′58.77″E/6.0341583°N 80.216325°E/6.0341583; 80.216325

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galle"
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)