Dutch Reformed Church, Galle

The Groote Kerk, or Dutch Reformed Church, inside Galle Fort in Galle, Sri Lanka, was completed in 1755 and is one of the oldest Protestant churches still in use in the country. Its floor is paved with old Dutch gravestones, and the interior has a carved pulpit and wall memorials to colonial families. It suits visitors exploring the fort on foot.

Finished in 1755 to mark a daughter's birth

Foundations were laid in 1682, but work stalled for decades. It was finished in 1755, funded by Commandeur Casparus de Jong and his wife Geertruyda Adriana le Grand in thanks for the birth of their daughter, who was baptised here that August. It is thought to be the third Dutch Reformed church in the fort, built on the site of a Portuguese Capuchin convent at the fort's highest point, over 12 m above sea level.

Calamander pulpit, Dutch gables and high pews

The plan is a cross with short transepts and no central tower; two large Dutch gables carry the roof. The hexagonal pulpit is made of calamander and satinwood, and high pews were built for the Commandeur and company officials. A second-hand organ from Colombo was installed in 1760. The belfry across the road dates from 1701, with a bell cast in 1709.

The Dutch-funded restoration and its 2005 UNESCO award

A grant from the Dutch Embassy paid for a full restoration, reopened on 28 November 2004, and the work won a UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award in 2005. The church belongs to the Christian Reformed Church in Sri Lanka.