Dutch Period Museum

The history of 17th Century Dutch colonial rule in Sri Lanka is rich and varied, as is its celebrated contribution to a renowned architectural heritage, a style personified by the Colombo Dutch Museum. Originally the Dutch governor’s residence in what is now the bustling commercial district of Petah, the building’s somewhat chequered past includes use as teacher training college, seminary, orphanage, hospital and police training school. In 1971, it was abandoned after a wall collapsed during a violent rainstorm. It would have been pulled down but for protests by Royal Asiatic Society and the Dutch Burgher Union that led to its restoration as a museum, which opened in 1982.