Maritime and Naval History Museum, Trincomalee

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Maritime and Naval History Museum
Maritime and Naval History Museum, Trincomalee.jpg
The Museum building
Location map of central Trincomalee.png
Red pog.svg
Location in central Trincomalee
Established3 February 2013
LocationLavender Lane, Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
Coordinates 8°34′11.3″N81°14′14.8″E / 8.569806°N 81.237444°E / 8.569806; 81.237444 Coordinates: 8°34′11.3″N81°14′14.8″E / 8.569806°N 81.237444°E / 8.569806; 81.237444
Type Maritime museum
Website http://www.navy.lk/

The Maritime and Naval History Museum is a Maritime museum located at Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. It has been established near to Fort Fredrick where the Dutch first landed to the island in the 16th century. [1]

Maritime museum museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water

A maritime museum is a museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water. A subcategory of maritime museums are naval museums, which focus on navies and the military use of the sea.

Trincomalee City in Sri Lanka

Trincomalee also known as Gokanna/Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast of the island overlooking the Trincomalee Harbour, 237 kilometres (147 mi) north-east of Colombo, 182 kilometres (113 mi) south-east of Jaffna and 111 kilometres (69 mi) miles north of Batticaloa, Trincomalee has been one of the main centres of Sri Lankan Tamil language speaking culture on the island for over two millennia. With a population of 99,135, the city is built on a peninsula of the same name, which divides its inner and outer harbours. People from Trincomalee are known as Trincomalians and the local authority is Trincomalee Urban Council. Trincomalee city is home to the famous Koneswaram temple alluded to in its historic Tamil name Thirukonamalai and is home to other historical monuments such as the Bhadrakali Amman Temple, Trincomalee, the Trincomalee Hindu Cultural Hall and, opened in 1897, the Trincomalee Hindu College. Trincomalee is also the site of the Trincomalee railway station and an ancient ferry service to Jaffna and the south side of the harbour at Muttur.

Sri Lanka Island country in South Asia

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia, located in the Indian Ocean to the southwest of the Bay of Bengal and to the southeast of the Arabian Sea. The island is geographically separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. The legislative capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, is a suburb of the commercial capital and largest city, Colombo.

Contents

The museum was declared open on 3 February 2013 by then Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa coincide with the country's 65th Independence Day celebrations. [2] The museum is used to display country's maritime history, marine biodiversity and information of the history of the local Naval affairs. [3]

Mahinda Rajapaksa Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan politician serving as Leader of the Opposition since 2018, and has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Kurunegala since 2015. He served as the President of Sri Lanka and Leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party from 2005 to 2015.

Museum building

The museum has been established in a 17th-century building used as the official residence of the Dutch Naval Commissioner during the Dutch ruling period from 1602 to 1795 and from 1795 to 1948 it had been used as the Urban Commissioner's residence. [4] In 2013 the building was renovated with the assistance of Government of the Netherlands to establish the museum and conservation of the museum building was directed by the Sri Lanka Archaeology Department and the Museums Department.

Netherlands Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Europe

The Netherlands is a country located mainly in Northwestern Europe. The European portion of the Netherlands consists of twelve separate provinces that border Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, with maritime borders in the North Sea with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. Together with three island territories in the Caribbean Sea—Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba— it forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The official language is Dutch, but a secondary official language in the province of Friesland is West Frisian.

Department of Archaeology (Sri Lanka)


The Department of Archaeology is a non-ministerial government department in Sri Lanka responsible for managing the archaeological heritage.

Department of National Museum (Sri Lanka)


The Department of National Museum is a non-ministerial government department in Sri Lanka responsible for maintaining the National Museums. There are other museum in the country run by the Department of Archaeology and the Central Cultural Fund, Sri Lanka.

See also

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority Maritime Museum, commonly known as the Colombo Maritime Museum, is located at 19 Chaithya Road, Colombo, adjacent to the Colombo Port. The museum is operated and maintained by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

National Maritime Museum (Galle) Maritime Archaeology Museum, Galle, Sri Lanka

The National Maritime Museum in Galle, Sri Lanka is situated within Galle Fort. It was first opened to the public on 9 May 1992 and is located in a 1671 Dutch Warehouse above the Old Gate of Galle Fort. Whilst the building housing the museum survived the impact of the 26 December 2004 tsunami, the adjoining UNESCO Maritime Archaeology Unit was completely destroyed and all the exhibitions were flood damaged and the majority of maritime archeological artifacts were lost. Under Sri Lanka – Netherlands Cultural Co-operation Program, the Royal Government of Netherlands provided financial assistance for reconstruction of the Maritime Museum. After 3 years period of reconstruction, the Maritime Museum was re-opened to the public.

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Galle City in Southern Province, Sri Lanka

Galle is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the administrative capital of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the district capital of Galle District.

Provinces of Sri Lanka 1st level administrative subdivisions of Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, provinces are the first level administrative division. They were first established by the British rulers of Ceylon in 1833. Over the next century most of the administrative functions were transferred to the districts, the second level administrative division. By the middle of the 20th century the provinces had become merely ceremonial. This changed in 1987 when, following several decades of increasing demand for a decentralization, the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Currently there are nine provinces.

Colombo Dutch Museum museum of Dutch colonial history in Colombo, Sri Lanka

The Colombo Dutch Museum is a museum that covers the history of the Dutch colonial rule in Sri Lanka.

Eastern Province, Sri Lanka Province in Sri Lanka

The Eastern Province is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was temporarily merged with the Northern Province to form the North Eastern Province. The capital of the province is Trincomalee.

The Portuguese Burghers are an ethnic group in Sri Lanka, of mixed Portuguese and Sri Lankan descent. They are Roman Catholic and spoke the Sri Lanka Indo-Portuguese language, a creole based on Portuguese. In modern times, English has become the common language while Sinhalese is taught in school as a second language. A large number of Portuguese Burghers living on the east coast of Sri Lanka are of Portuguese descent; this is evident in the Sri Lanka-Indo Portuguese language, which has many affiliations to Sinhalese and Portuguese. They are mixed with other Burgher people, including Dutch Burghers. However, Portuguese Burghers are not Dutch Burghers.

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SLNS Gajabahu was a River-class frigate of the Sri Lanka Navy. She has since been converted to a training ship for the Naval & Maritime Academy, Trincomalee. She was originally HMCS Hallowell of the Royal Canadian Navy, built during the Second World War and then saw service as INS Misnak of the Israeli Navy. The Royal Ceylon Navy purchased her in 1958 from Israel.

Naval and Maritime Academy

Naval and Maritime Academy (NMA), Trincomalee, is the location of initial officer training in the Sri Lanka Navy, and is located within SLN Dockyard, Trincomalee. It received university status in 2001 under the leadership of Commodore SR Samaratunga.

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Hoods Tower Museum

The Hoods Tower Museum is a naval museum of the Sri Lanka Navy in Trincomalee. It is located at Ostenburg, in the Trincomalee peninsula on a high ridge overlooking the entrance to the inner harbor of Trincomalee within the SLN Dockyard. The museum gains its name from the Hoods Tower, an observation tower named after Vice-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood, Commander of the East Indies Station.

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The Trincomalee Garrison is a common name used for collection of military bases of the Sri Lanka Army located in and around the Fort Fredrick and the town of Trincomalee in the Eastern Province. Due to the large natural harbor, it is one of the oldest military garrisons in Sri Lanka and has been occupied by the Portuguese, Dutch, French and the British. Known as Trincomalee Fortress during World War II.

SLN Dockyard

Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Dockyard is the largest naval base of the Sri Lanka Navy and a major shipyard located in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. Established by the British as the Royal Naval Dockyard, Trincomalee it was home to the East Indies Station of the Royal Navy during World War II. Since the withdrawal of the Royal Navy, the Royal Ceylon Navy took over dockyard. It became the home base of the RCyN fleet and today it is home to the Eastern Naval Command and the Naval and Maritime Academy of the Sri Lanka Navy.

Jayantha Perera

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References

  1. ↑ "Maritime and Naval History Museum, Trincomalee". easternsrilanka. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  2. ↑ "President inaugurates maritime museum in Trincomalee". vivalanka.com. 3 February 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  3. ↑ "Maritime and Naval Museum in Trincomalee is opened". itnnews.lk. 9 May 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  4. ↑ "Sri Lanka President opens Naval and Maritime Museum in Trincomalee". colombopage.com. 3 February 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
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