Assembly Hall of the Elephant Fort
- Dutch Reformed Church, Matara Fort
- Sunday Mass 8am to noon. Visitors can visit the church on weekdays 9am-2pm
- +94 715553322
Fort assembly hall
Located at the central green, the plain church with round windows is like a museum where stories are told about the origins of the Matara Fort and the people who lived at that time. More than just a church it was also the meeting place of the Fort community.
In the Dutch days the church was like an assembly hall, where the governors and the dissaves would have discussions and take oaths.
Tombstones
Inside the church are 25 tombstones of famous people who lived from the Dutch to the British Era. Among them Pieter Christiaansz Bolscho, (the Dessave of Matara) Governor Falck, Sir Henry Lawrence and C.A. Lorenz. The oldest date all the way back to the 17th century. Buried here are Babara and Bermardus Lambertyn, the housewife and son of the chief master Lambertus Lambertyn.
Nice to know
After being damaged by the Sinhalese Rebellion of 1760, the Church was restored in 1767 by Daniel Burnett. This building is one of the oldest churches in the whole country.
It is a church that still works today and bears all the sufferings of the devotees.