Welekade Dutch Fort

  

The Old Welekade Market/Welekade Dutch Fort is a historic colonial building in Badulla, Sri Lanka. The site belonged to the Badulla Divisional Secretariat division and is located near the Badulla Hospital, on the Badulla-Bandarawela road.

The history about the construction of Welekade market building is unclear, with many people believing that it was erected by the Dutch as a kind of castle or fortress. According to more reliable sources the building was constructed by the British in 1889, as the first public building in the Uva province. Due to its historical importance, the Welekade building has been formally recognised by the government as an archaeological protected monument. The designation was declared on 6 June 2008 under the government Gazette number 1553.

The market building has British architectural features, which can not be found anywhere in the country. The building was built in the shape of cross with a central high roof with a lower roof over the four entrances.[4] The inner space layout consists of an octagonal shaped central compound with four corridors. The corridors are built at right angles to each other. The centre of the building is an open space which rises up to a turret.