National Maritime Museum Galle

Galle Fort houses the National Maritime Museum or National Maritime Archaeology Museum. It opened to the public on May 9, 1992, and is housed in a 1671 Dutch warehouse above Galle Fort’s Old Gate. While the museum building survived the impact of the tsunami on December 26, 2004, the adjoining UNESCO Maritime Archaeology Unit was completely destroyed, all exhibitions were flood damaged and the majority of maritime archaeological artefacts were lost. The Royal Government of the Netherlands provided financial assistance for reconstructing the Maritime Museum through the Sri Lanka-Netherlands Cultural Cooperation Program. The Maritime Museum reopened to the public after a three-year renovation period.

About the Building

Unlike most other Dutch fortifications, the Dutch Warehouse building, built in the late seventeenth century, has a portion of the structure incorporated into the thickness of the rampart. It is a two-story structure with the original fort entry severing the ground floor.

The British Coat of Arms is visible above the Old Gate, and the inner part of the gate has an inscription with the date 1669, the letters VOC (an abbreviation for Verenigde Oostindindische Compagnie, the Dutch East India Company), and the insignia of a cock flanked by two lions. When the British built the new gateway (the main or northern gate) in 1873, piercing the main rampart between the Sun and Moon Bastions, the importance of the old gate diminished, though it was still used as the main entrance to the harbour and port of Galle. The Warehouse’s functions were numerous and varied throughout its three-century history.

It was used as an administrative office complex in post-independence Sri Lanka until the offices were relocated to the new secretariat building outside Galle Fort. Due to long years of neglect, lack of maintenance, and natural decay, the building was eventually reduced to a derelict state.

Opening of the Museum

A portion of the building was then converted into the National Maritime Museum, which opened to the public on May 9, 1992. Originally, the National Maritime Museum focused on marine fauna and flora. Underwater artifacts and scaled-down whale and fish models were among the artifacts. The museum featured exhibits related to seafaring, maritime trade, fishing, and sea life, as well as relics recovered from the 20-odd maritime archaeological sites around Galle.

Life-size dioramas of traditional fishing methods and a “walk into the sea” diorama with natural coral beds, seagrass beds, and deep sea fish were among the other exhibits. One of the museum’s final exhibits was a display of the causes of sea pollution and coast erosion, as well as the methods used to combat these issues

Re-opening After the Tsunami

The museum was severely damaged by the 2004 Asian tsunami, with only an estimated 20% of the 3,600 objects salvaged from shipwrecks in Galle port remaining.

It reopened as the country’s first National Maritime Archaeology Museum on March 4, 2010. The original 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2) Dutch warehouse building was completely renovated thanks to a special grant of Rs. 177 million from the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The new museum has dual access, with the upper-level entry linked to the current main gate, and the lower-level access restoring the building’s position as the prominent gateway. The building is now accessible to both pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

The Museum features exhibits of marine artefacts discovered during underwater explorations. Maps, naval crafts, ropes, earthenware, beer mugs, smoking pipes, barrels, and many other items such as artillery guns and sailor shoes can be found. These artefacts were recovered from shipwrecks in the sea off the Southern coast, some nearly 800 years old.