Trincomalee

Bay of Trincomalee (View from Temple)

Trincomalee is a port city on the northeast coast of Sri Lanka, about 110 miles northeast of Kandy. The town is built on a bold peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbors. The Bay of Tricomalee is landlocked; the harbor is renowned for its extent and security; unlike every other in the Indian Sea, it is accessible to every description of craft in every variation of weather, but it lies out of the course of trade, Colombo having in this respect a great advantage over it.

Sri Lanka with Trincomalee

History

Here the Malabar invaders of Sri Lanka built the "Temple of a Thousand Columns", to which pilgrims flocked from all parts of India. This celebrated shrine was demolished in 1622 by the Portuguese, who fortified the heights with the materials derived from its destruction. It was next held by the Dutch, and subsequently by them and the French alternately, till the capture of Sri Lanka by the British in 1795.

Trincomalee lies in the region of Sri Lanka where most of the population belongs to the Tamil ethnic group, and are Hindus by religion, in contrast to the island's majority group, which are ethnic Sinhalese and Buddhists. After Sri Lanka became independent in 1948, tension between the two groups intensified—culminating with the LTTE insurgency—with the heaviest fighting taking place in and around the city. A cease-fire was negotiated in 2002, but Trincomalee remains underdeveloped and impoverished even by Sri Lankan standards.

Trincomalee was one of the cities hardest hit by the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on December 26, 2004.

The British in Trincomalee

Until 1957 Trincomalee was an important base for the Royal Navy and was home to many British people who were employed by the British Admiralty. One of the places inhabited by the British was Fort Fredrick (now occupied by the Sri Lankan Army. Although some of the old buildings in the fort were used as residences, the British Government built a group of bungalows in the early 50's specifically for their employees. These bungalows still exist and provide accommodation for soldiers of the Sri Lankan Army.

DW Shortwave Relay Station

There is a Deutsche Welle Shortwave Relay Station in Trincomalee. It was not adversely affected by the previous Tsunami because of the sea terrain around Trincomalee. Deutsche Welle started broadcasting from Trincomalee Relay Station in 1984.

See Also

• Fredric fort
• Koneswaram Temple