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
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

  1. "Pooneryn fort". Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  2. "Pooneryn Fort". Retrieved 15 November 2014.