Matara Star Fort

The 18th century star fort was named “Redoute (Fort) van Eck” after Lubbert Jan Baron van Eck , the Dutch governor at the time. The decorated gate bears a date of 1763, the fort’s name, the Dutch coat of arms, and – within its lunette-shaped pediment – the insignia of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). A chain-operated drawbridge crosses the fort’s moat. It was built by the Dutch in 1706., the date however etched above the entrance, 1767, refers to the reconstruction of the church by the Dutch following the Matara Freedom Fight.