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Galle - Fort Lighthouse |
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ප්රදීපාගාරය ගාල්ල |
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The Galle Lighthouse (also known as Pointe de Galle Light) is an
onshore Lighthouse in Galle. It is operated and maintained by
the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. This is Sri Lanka's oldest light
station.
Philippus Baldaeus, a Dutch minister who served in
the area in the late 1650s, detailed his observations of Galle
Harbour, in his work, Description of the East India, Malabar and
Coromandel Coasts, stating that there was an iron cannon placed
on the ramparts and a lantern to guide the sailors on top of the
28 feet above sea level rock which jutted out into the sea.
The first lighthouse at Galle was built by the British in 1848.
It was a 24.4-metre-high iron lighthouse, constructed from
cast-iron plates, imported from England, designed by British
architect Alexander Gordon and erected by Messrs. Robinson,
Engineers of Pimlico. The lighthouse, painted white, was located
on the southwest bastion, Utrtecht Bastion, of Galle fort on the
western side of Galle Harbor. It had a fixed point light with
prolate reflectors, which was visible for 19 kilometres. In July
1936 it was destroyed by fire.
The current 26.5-metre-high
concrete lighthouse was erected about 100 metres from the
original site in 1939. The original light was furnished with a
glass prism lens floating in a bath of mercury and was powered
by a weight driven machine.
The light station is within the
walls of the ancient Galle Fort, a UNESCO world heritage site
and well known tourist attraction. The lighthouse is
strategically located at the southern end of the promontory,
built approximately 6 metres above the road level on the
ramparts, at what is known as the Point Utrecht Bastion, giving
it full view of any ships entering Galle Harbour. |
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Southern |
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District |
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Galle |
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City |
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Galle |
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Historic |
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N/A |
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GPS : |
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6.02452, 80.21946 |
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SRI LANKA THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY 
