Sakam Tower (Chinese: 赤崁樓; pinyin: Chìkǎnlóu; Wade–Giles: Ch'ih4-k'an3 lou2; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chhiah-khám-lâu), formerly Fort Provintia, in West Central District, Tainan City was built in 1653 by the Dutch during their colonization of Taiwan. The fort was surrendered to Koxinga. Since 1945 the site has been known as Chihkan Tower (赤崁樓), which derives from the Taiwanese aboriginal village name recorded by the Dutch as variants of "Chaccam," "Sakam," "Zaccam," etc.[1]
In addition to the site's architectural and artistic significance, its library of dictionaries and business transactions documents the Siraya language spoken by the native inhabitants of the region during Dutch rule.
|