Kalutara fort (Sinhala: කලුතර බලකොටුව Kaluthara Balakotuwa; Tamil: களுத்துறைக்

கோட்டை, romanized: Kaḷuttuṟaik Kōṭṭai) was built by the Portuguese in 1622.[1] It

was located in Kalutara, Sri Lanka.

In 1574, Portuguese forces, commanded by Diogo de Melo de Castro, devastated the

area south of Colombo destroying numerous shrines and temple. In late 1594
Portuguese forces, led by Jerónimo de Azevedo, captured the town of Kalutara. In
1622 the Portuguese and built a fort on the site of the destroyed Gangathilaka
temple.[2][3] The fort was constructed under the supervision of Jorge de
Albuquerque.[4] It was subsequently captured by King Rajasinghe I of the Sitawaka
kingdom. Then still later it was captured by the Dutch and re-captured by the
Portuguese.

On 15 October 1655 following a siege by Dutch forces, led by Gerard Hulft, the
Portuguese commander of the fort, Anthonio Mendes de Aranha, surrendered the fort
and garrison of 255 men, without a shot being fired.[5][6] In 1677 the Dutch
fortified it by constructing two additional bastions, increasing the size of the
ramparts, digging a moat and erecting a drawbridge.[5] It is reported that the
Dutch Governor brought over architects from Netherlands especially to rebuild this
fort. Most of the building material was sourced locally however it is reported that
certain types of rocks were brought from the Netherlands.[7] In February 1769, it
was surrendered to the British, and was used for garrison and residence of the
Government Agent.[3][7] The building was also was used as a country retreat by the
Colonial Secretary of Ceylon, John Rodney, who buried an infant son there.[8]

There is no remains of the fort due to the construction of Kalutara Vihara on the
site