Pooneryn fort

Pooneryn fort
Part of Kilinochchi District
Pooneryn, Sri Lanka
Pooneryn fort
Coordinates	9°30′12″N 80°12′44″E / 9.503370°N 80.212141°E / 9.503370; 80.212141
Type	Defence fort
Site information
Condition	Badly damaged
Site history
Built by	Portuguese and Dutch
Materials	Granite Stones and bricks

Pooneryn Fort (Tamil: பூநகரிக் கோட்டை; Sinhalese: පූනරීන් බලකොටුව) is located in Pooneryn, adjacent to the Jaffna Peninsula. It was built by Portuguese to protect their possessions in Jaffna. The fort was captured by the Dutch in 1658, and subsequently by the British in 1796.^[1]

During Dutch possession, the square shaped fort had two bastions. In 1805, British built a rest house at the fort. The fort was under the control of Sri Lankan Army and LTTE during the civil war but is now fully accessible to the public. The remains of the fort however are currently in a poor state of repair.^[2]

References

• Nelson, W. A.; de Silva, R. K. (2004). The Dutch Forts of Sri Lanka – The Military Monuments of Ceylon. Sri Lanka Netherlands Association. 

Forts of Sri Lanka Ancient Forts Balana fort Mapagala fortress Sigiriya Sitawaka fort Vijithapura Yapahuwa Colonial Forts Portuguese Forts Arandora fort Arippu fort Batticaloa fort Colombo fort Delft Island fort Fort Fredrick Fort Hammenheil Galle fort Haldummulla fort† Hanwella fort Jaffna fort Kalutara fort Kayts Island fort† Malwana fort† Mannar fort Matara fort Menikkadawara fort† Negombo fort Pooneryn fort Ratnapura Portuguese fort† Ruwanwella fort Dutch Forts Elephant Pass fort Fort Beschutter Fort Ostenburg Fort Pyl Kalpitiya fort Kankesanthurai fort Katuwana fort Koddiyar fort Mullaitivu fort Point Pedro fort Ratnapura Dutch fort Star fort Tangalle fort British Forts Fort MacDowall Martello tower Less or no contribution/renovation works of Dutch are marked by † symbol under "Portuguese Forts", and others are considered as Dutch forts too.