How a hidden fortress became the modern legislative heart of Sri Lanka
In short: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte began as a 13th-century water fortress designed to baffle invaders with its marshy defenses. Today, this historic site serves as the legislative capital of Sri Lanka, housing a parliament built on a reclaimed island where Portuguese soldiers once brawled in the city's final days.
The city originated as a strategic stronghold called Kotte, established in the 13th century by a chieftain named Nissanka Alagakkonara. Built at the confluence of the Diyawanna Oya and Kolonnawa Oya streams, it functioned as a triangular water fortress. Its natural defenses were bolstered by a massive inner moat and thick ramparts constructed from laterite rock. By 1391, following a military victory over the Kingdom of Jaffna, the site was renamed Sri Jayawardenepura, meaning the resplendent city of growing victory.
During its peak as the capital of the Sinhalese Kingdom of Kotte between 1415 and 1565, the city was a center of royal and religious life. It featured a magnificent palace with walls of sparkling quartz, a three-storeyed temple housing the sacred tooth relic, and a five-storeyed monastery. The city's defensive reputation was so formidable that, in 1505, local guides reportedly led Portuguese envoys on a three-day circuitous route to hide the capital's true location, giving rise to a local idiom equating a roundabout journey with going to Kotte.
The city's modern transformation began in 1977 when the government designated it as the new capital to relieve congestion in Colombo. The official relocation culminated on 29 April 1982, with the inauguration of a new parliamentary complex situated on Duwa, a 12-acre island in the center of a lake created by dredging surrounding marshlands. Interestingly, this island had previously served as a recreation spot for Portuguese soldiers, as alcohol was strictly prohibited within the royal city itself.
Today, the city remains a blend of history and modern administration. While government institutions continue to relocate from Colombo, the area retains its academic and cultural significance, hosting the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and various national schools. Despite the urban expansion, traces of the original 14th-century fortifications remain visible, though some sections have been repurposed or encroached upon by modern development.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
- Also: Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte | Sri Lanka, Map, History, & Facts | Britannica
- Also: Wikidata — Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte · CC0
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