Negombo Fort

The Portuguese fort that stood where the current Negombo Fort is situated was mostly destroyed by cannon during the Dutch siege in 1644. The Dutch fort was built on its ruins, not on the usual square pattern, but on a pentagonal one, though it had only four bulwarks. The fifth one was never built. Negombo is home to the largest community of Catholics in Sri Lanka, a legacy of the Portuguese, who industriously spread Catholicism all along the west coast. Portuguese surnames abound here, though the people do not descend from the Portuguese. Their ancestors adopted a Portuguese name when they had been baptised. In the Dutch time Negombo was important because the highest quality cinnamon grew in this area, but with the disappearance of the cinnamon trade it lost its importance.