Galle fort

Galle fort was built first by the Portuguese, then modified by the Dutch during the 17th century. Even today, after 400 years of existence, it looks new and polished with reconstruction work done by Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka. Today Sri Lankan government and many Dutch people who still own some of the properties inside the fort are looking at making this one of the modern wonders of the world.
Today, the citizens of Dutch fort in Galle are trying to make this a free port and a free trade zone. If successful no taxes are levied on the companies and individuals who reside inside the city.
The Dutch fort also known as Ramparts of Galle withstood the Boxing Day tsunami which destroyed the Galle town. There are many Moor families who live inside this fort along with Sinhalese, Dutch, English, Portuguese and Germans. More details regarding the history of the fort can be found at the visitors centre and at the Dutch period museum inside the Fort.
The tax system proposed inside the fort says there is no withholding tax, no tax on capital gains, no corporate tax for ten years from the start of the business, no VAT, and no profit tax.
Some of the not famous Moor families who live inside the fort are Noordeen Cassim's family and Fatima Koppen Adams family who run a story telling center for the tourists and children who visit these places every day.

UNESCO heritage site

Before the Dutch took Colombo from the Portuguese, Galle was their headquarters. Contrary to the Colombo Fort, the one in Galle was not only not demolished, but is one of the best preserved examples of 17th century colonial fortifications in the world, and is on the UNESCO list of World Monuments. The reason for its remarkable state of preservation is that this once busy trading town, visited by the East-India fleets and many regional traders, fell upon slack times after the Dutch had left. The development that did take place focussed on the new town of Galle, outside the Fort. The Fort is really a walled city, with a rectangular pattern of streets full of the low houses with gables and verandas in the Dutch colonial style. An irony of history is that most of the inhabitants of old Galle, occupying the houses of the Dutch, are the descendants of the Muslim traders that the Dutch despised so much for their petty trade that violated their monopoly. The Muslims have adapted many of the houses to their own likings, closing up the verandas with woodwork to prevent their women from being seen from outside. Recently it is no longer allowed to alter any of these houses, some renovation is taking place, and private museums with handicraft shops have even been established.
There are also several interesting buildings from early British times, and an early 20th century lighttower. The fort was started by the Portuguese in 1588, but there is nothing recognizably Portuguese left. Probably parts of the thick walls, that you can walk on almost all around the town, in the sunshine and the cool breeze, with the red-tiled roofs of the houses on the one hand, and the blue ocean on the other.
The Dutch, with a force of some 2,500 men under Koster, captured the fort from the Portuguese in 1640. Fortification went on until the early 18th century. They also built an elaborate system of sewers that were flooded at high tide, taking the sewage away to sea.

 What to see inside the Fort

On the other side of the bay is a hill with a great view of Galle in the distance. On top of the hill is the Closenberg Hotel, one of the most beautiful colonial houses in Sri Lanka. A sleek, low building with a red-tiled roof and a wood interior, it has covered verandas with antique furniture, and a rose garden overlooking the bay. Across the water are the walls of Galle, and behind them one can clearly see all the important buildings of the Fort. The hotel is in ongoing danger of destruction to make place for industrial development on the shoreline beneath it, but it has managed to hold out for now.