Galle
Galle
ගාල්ල காலி | |
|---|---|
UTC+5:30 (Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone) | |
| Area code | 091 |
| Website | galle.mc.gov.lk |
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
| Criteria | Cultural: iv |
| Reference | 451 |
| Inscription | 1988 (12th Session) |
Galle (Sinhala: ගාල්ල, romanized: Gālla; Tamil: காலி, romanized: Kāli) (formerly French: Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, 119 km (74 mi) from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District.
Galle was known as Gimhathiththa
Other prominent
Important natural geographical features in Galle include Rumassala in Unawatuna, a large mound-like hill that forms the eastern protective barrier to Galle Harbour. Local tradition associates this hill with some events of Ramayana, one of the great Hindu epics. The major river in the area is the Gin Ganga, which begins from Gongala Kanda, passes villages such as Neluwa, Nagoda, Baddegama, Thelikada and Wakwella, and reaches the sea at Gintota. The river is bridged at Wakwella by the Wakwella Bridge.
Etymology
Galle was known as Gimhathitha in ancient times. The term is believed to be derived from the classical
History
According to
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Ancient Greek and Roman geographers may have known about Galle, which they might have called the Cape of Birds. Ptolemy might also have known about the port which he referred to as Odoka. Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta visited Galle (or Qali as he called it) in 1342. During the 12th and 13th centuries, Sinhalese refugees fleeing Tamil armies from the north began to settle in Galle and other nearby areas.[7]
Galle had been a prominent seaport long before western rule in the country:
In 1640, the Portuguese were forced to surrender to the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch built the present fort in 1663. They built a fortified solid granite wall and three bastions, known as "Sun", "Moon" and "Star".
After the British took over the country from the Dutch in 1796, they preserved the fort unchanged and used it as the administrative centre of the district.
Climate
Galle features a tropical rainforest climate. The city has no true dry season, though it is noticeably drier in the months of January and February. As is commonplace with many cities with this type of climate, temperatures show little variation throughout the course of the year, with average temperatures hovering at around 26 °C (79 °F) throughout.
| Climate data for Galle (1991–2020 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 34.9 (94.8) |
34.6 (94.3) |
36.4 (97.5) |
35.5 (95.9) |
35.3 (95.5) |
32.6 (90.7) |
31.5 (88.7) |
31.3 (88.3) |
31.2 (88.2) |
33.2 (91.8) |
33.8 (92.8) |
33.5 (92.3) |
36.4 (97.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29.9 (85.8) |
30.7 (87.3) |
31.6 (88.9) |
31.4 (88.5) |
30.4 (86.7) |
29.4 (84.9) |
29.0 (84.2) |
29.0 (84.2) |
29.2 (84.6) |
29.4 (84.9) |
29.9 (85.8) |
29.9 (85.8) |
30.0 (86.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.7 (80.1) |
27.2 (81.0) |
28.1 (82.6) |
28.4 (83.1) |
28.2 (82.8) |
27.5 (81.5) |
27.1 (80.8) |
27.2 (81.0) |
27.2 (81.0) |
27.1 (80.8) |
27.1 (80.8) |
26.8 (80.2) |
27.4 (81.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23.4 (74.1) |
23.7 (74.7) |
24.6 (76.3) |
25.3 (77.5) |
26.0 (78.8) |
25.7 (78.3) |
25.4 (77.7) |
25.4 (77.7) |
25.2 (77.4) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24.2 (75.6) |
23.7 (74.7) |
24.8 (76.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 18.7 (65.7) |
19.4 (66.9) |
17.1 (62.8) |
18.2 (64.8) |
17.1 (62.8) |
20.7 (69.3) |
20.9 (69.6) |
20.9 (69.6) |
20.4 (68.7) |
20.7 (69.3) |
18.1 (64.6) |
18.9 (66.0) |
17.1 (62.8) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 86.8 (3.42) |
71.1 (2.80) |
89.9 (3.54) |
201.9 (7.95) |
315.9 (12.44) |
184.0 (7.24) |
172.6 (6.80) |
161.9 (6.37) |
260.9 (10.27) |
344.5 (13.56) |
282.6 (11.13) |
175.9 (6.93) |
2,348 (92.44) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 6.6 | 5.8 | 6.9 | 11.8 | 17.2 | 16.6 | 15.1 | 14.2 | 17.1 | 18.2 | 14.9 | 11.2 | 155.7 |
| Source 1: NOAA[8] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Department of Meteorology (records up to 2007)[9] | |||||||||||||
Cityscape
Wards
Galle has twenty wards:[10]
Governance
The
The last appointed mayor was Methsiri De Silva, who served from 2009 to 2016. The mayoral system has been dissolved the Galle administration, with the city presently administered by a commissioner. The main vision of the city is "Building of moderate city through the supply of relatively increased utility services to the citizens who pay taxes to the Galle Municipal Council". The other vision is to brand Galle as "Green City-Green Galle" to create and promote Galle as one of Sri Lanka's cool and healthy coastal cities with a clean green canopy.[11]
Demographics
Galle is a sizeable city by Sri Lankan standards, and has a population of 101,749, the majority of whom are of
Education
Schools
Galle is home to some of the oldest leading schools in Sri Lanka, with twenty-nine government schools and five international schools constituting the city's educational system. Some of the schools located in Galle city are listed below.
| School | Date of establishment |
|---|---|
| All Saints College | 1867 |
| Anula Devi Balika Vidyalaya | 1941 |
| British College Sri Lanka | 1900 |
| Buona Vista College | 1888 |
| Ceylinco Sussex College | 1997 |
| Galle International College | 1837 |
| Kingston International School | 1900 |
| Leeds International School | 2007 |
| Mahinda College | 1892 |
| Malharus Sulhiya National College | 1918 |
| Muslim Ladies College | 2001 |
| Olcott Maha Vidyalaya Galle | 1937 |
Richmond College |
1876 |
Rippon Girls' College |
1817 |
Sacred Heart Convent |
1896 |
St. Aloysius' College |
1895 |
Sanghamitta Girls College |
1919 |
| Siridhamma College | 1995 |
| Sudharma College | 1895 |
Southlands College Galle |
1885 |
| Thomas Gall International School | 2006 |
| Vidyaloka College | 1941 |
| Janadhipathi Balika Vidyalaya | 2007 |
Universities
Three main faculties of the
- Faculty of Engineering, University of Ruhuna
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Ruhuna
- Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, University of Ruhuna
- Study Centre, Open University of Sri Lanka
Higher education institutes
The Advanced Technological Institute in Labuduwa, Galle was started in 2000, and it planned to offer Higher National Diploma in Information Technology and Higher National Diploma in Agriculture Technology – HNDT (Agri). Since then, Labuduwa ATI has been a pioneer in technological education in Sri Lanka. The National Institute of Business Management in Galle was established in 2010 to provide higher education opportunities in the fields of information technology and business management. The Ruhunu National College of Education, operated under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, trains teachers training for government schools in Kurunduwatta, Galle. Additionally, the Amarasuriya Teachers' Training College for government school teachers is in Unawatuna, Galle.
- Advanced Technological Institute (ATI)
- National Institute of Business Management (NIBM)
- Ruhunu National College of Education
- Amarasuriya Teachers' Training College
- Mercantile Seamen Training Institute (MSTI)
Transport
Galle is served by
Twin towns – sister cities
Galle is twinned with:[13]
Velsen, Netherlands
Notable people
see Category:People from Galle
See also
References
- ISBN 978-88-8491-393-7.
- ^ "Medieval Traveller Ibn Battuta was a Guest of the Jaffna King in 1344". Ilankai Tamil Sangam. 2006. Archived from the original on 2016-12-28. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
- ^ "Pitching it Up: The Galle International Stadium". World Cricket Watch. 2011. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
- ^ "VOC Galle Dutch Fort, South Coast, Sri Lanka (A World Heritage Site)". My Sri Lanka Holidays. Archived from the original on 25 July 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
- ^ Lanka Nest (9 March 2008). "Galle and Galle Fort". Discover Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
- ^ District Disaster Management Coordinating Unit- Galle. "Psychosocial Forum District Data Mapping: Galle" (PDF). Department of Social Services: Galle. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-07-28. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
- ISBN 1-884964-04-4.
- ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Galle". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
- ^ "Ever Recorded Daily Extreme Values" (PDF). Department of Meteorology. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 December 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
- ^ "Galle Municipal Council Ward Map". Galle city. Archived from the original on 2020-07-29. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
- ^ "Galle Green City - Make green city - Home". greengalle.weebly.com. Archived from the original on 2019-12-21. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
- ^ "Colombo - Galle - Matara by rail". Colombofort.com. 2011. Archived from the original on 2013-02-15. Retrieved 2013-02-14.
- ^ "Galle Library". Love Sri Lanka. 18 April 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-08-05. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
External links
- Galle Municipal Council Archived 2020-10-22 at the Wayback Machine
Galle travel guide from Wikivoyage- Old Town of Galle and its Fortifications, UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Official website of the Sri Lanka Tourism Board
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