Fort Fredrick or Trincomalee Fort as it is referred to colloquially, is a protective monument in remarkably good condition that dates back to the Portuguese colonial period. The building was completed in 1624. At this time the island was in a state of turmoil due to being under an invasive force. Jaffna and the coastal areas up the north and east in particular was completely beneath the feet of the Portuguese. It was built as the Fort of Triqillimale, renamed so by the Dutch in 1639. This fortress has an impressive gateway, emblazoned with colonial insignia.

As a whole is was a triangular fort as was conceived by its builders, made of stone and mortar. It was outfitted with artillery bastions with names such as Santa Cruz, Santa Tiago, and Santo Antonio. Historical records dating back to this time tell us that the Portuguese used parts of the old Koneswaram Temple nearby to build the fort. It was, at the time, also known as Gokarna Temple.

The present-day temple still remains as it was though, some way down from the fort. In fact during the earlier parts of the Portuguese period, King Ethirimana Cinkam of Jaffna had refused D. Jeronimo de Azevedo’s request in 1612 to build a fort there. However with the defeat of the so-called Kingdom of Jaffna, they were free to do as they wished. Thus the result was the destruction of the famous Koneswaram Temple on Tamil New Years’ Day, April 14th, 1622. It was done during a chariot festival and it was part of a massively destructive campaign that washed over the northeastern seaboard as the Portuguese and Dutch battled one another for supremacy. In fact the Thirty Years’ War had blown Europe upside-down and the eastern coast of Sri Lanka was the scene of a few naval battles between the colonial powers of the area.

The Dutch Admiral Adam Westerwold finally captured fort Fredrick in 1639, turning it into a center of their governance of the eastern seaboard, especially as a defense against the French and the newly expanding British when they were interested in Batticaloa, but soon the French had to leave the island’s waters.

By 1672, it was transformed into a new building, renamed as Fort Fredrick. Finally, the British took over the fort in 1795 and presently it is occupied by the Sri Lankan Army’s Gajaba Regiment although it is accessible to visitors.

Written by Vasika Udurawane for Travel Lanka Compass