Fortress of Our Lady of Miracles of Jafanapatão

Built by the Portuguese, later captured by the dutch in 1658 it was expanded and later on captured by the British and was controlling it till 1948.

As the civil war started From 1985 to 1995 it was under the LTTE and they destroyed several of key features to stop the Army from taking control as the site could be used to stage attacks.

The fort consists of the old prison, hospital, churches, barracks, dungeon, inner ramparts and the ancillary buildings. In the middle of the fort stands the hangman\’s tower and is still been to seen.

The outer and inner interior of the fort is inspired by Vauban star design. It is one of the famous designs that was popular during the mid 15th century in Italy. Above is a blueprint of the fort then and the other is a sky view drone photo of the fort now.

The walls of the fort are made out of corral rocks and some the rocks have names and dates engraved to it; some of them are hard to read. At one of the entrances to the fort the words ANNO 1680 is mentioned on top of the wall. (Click the name to find more about ANNO 1680)

The fort is located near the coastal village of Gurunagar. Due to numerous miracles attributed to the statue of Virgin Mary in the church nearby, the fort was named as Fortress of Our Lady of Miracles of Jafanapatão (Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora dos Milagres de Jafanapatão)

The fort is now open to the public, It does have a museum inside for tourists to enjoy and get to know more about the fort.