Loading

Info

Province Southern Province
Total Area 1,652 km2 (638 sq mi)
Total Population 1,058,771
Buddhism 94%
Islam 3.7%
Buddhism (94%) Islam (3.7%) Hinduism (1.5%) Christianity (0.9%) 1,058,771
Hinduism 1.5%
Christianity 0.9%

Galle

Description

Galle is a district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka

About

In the ancient Sri Lanka, Galle District secured an important place in the battles against enemies as the capital city of Southern Province. Ancient legends reveal that in 1072 A.C. king Vijayabahu I started his battle against "Soli" in Thambalagamuwa of Hinidum Pattu. According to legends, during the reign of king Dambhadeniya Parakramabahu carried out his battle agents Queen Sugala in the Galle District. Galle was a very important area during the reign of King Maha Parakramabahu and it very much helped the Dutch, Portuguese and English establish their kingdoms.

Galle was called "Gimhathitha." The Sinhalese pronunciation "Gaala" derived from the word "gala" (stone). Gala implies meeting place of bullock carts. Later it was pronounced as "Gaala" as there were large rock and hills in the district.

A number of individuals from the Galle district have made significant contributions to Sinhala literature. Thotagamuwa Vijayaba pirivena, which was a famous educational institute in Kotte era,[2] produced a number of notable scholars. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala TheraMigettuwatte Gunananda TheraMartin WickramasingheNandadasa KodagodaEdwin AriyadasaM. B. AriyapalaGunadasa AmarasekeraD. J. WimalasurendraSenarath ParanavithanaA. T. AriyaratneSirimal Ranawella and Ariyapala Gurunnanse are a number of notable residents of Galle.