A city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka is by far the best example of a fortified city built by Europeans in the South and Southeast Asia. It is now a world heritage site and is also known as the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers. The main town with a population of around 100,000 is connected by rail and road to Colombo and Matara.
The "modern" history of Galle starts in 1505, when the Portuguese took it by force. In 1640, the Portuguese surrendered to the Dutch East India Company and the present fort was built by them in 1663. They built a fortified wall using solid granite and built three bastions known as "Sun", "Moon" and "Star". After the British took over the country from the Dutch in the year 1796, they preserved the Fort unchanged, and used it as the administrative centre of Galle.