Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte - wikipedia Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte `` Kotte '' redirects here. For the kingdom, see Kingdom of Kotte. `` Capital of Sri Lanka '' redirects here. For the ancient capitals, see List of capitals in Sri Lanka. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( February 2017 ) Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte ශ්‍රී ජයවර්ධනපුර කෝට්ටේ ஶ்ரீ ஜெயவர்த்தனபுர கோட்டே Administrative Capital Colombo Metropolitan Region Diyatha Uyana Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Show map of Colombo District Show map of Sri Lanka Show all Coordinates : 6 ° 55 ′ N 79 ° 55 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 6.917 ° N 79.917 ° E ﻿ / 6.917 ; 79.917 Country Sri Lanka Province Western Province District Colombo District Government Mayor R.A.D Janaka Ranawaka ( Sri Lanka Freedom Party ) Area Administrative Capital 17 km ( 7 sq mi ) Population ( 2001 ) ( 1 ) Administrative Capital 115,826 Density 3,305 / km ( 8,560 / sq mi ) Metro 2,234,289 Time zone SLST ( UTC + 5 : 30 ) Postal code 10100 Area code ( s ) 011 Website www.kotte.mc.gov.lk This article contains Indic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks or boxes, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic text. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte ( commonly known as Kotte / ˈkoʊteɪ / ) is the official capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is a satellite city and within the urban area of Sri Lanka 's de-facto capital, Colombo. Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte Municipal Council area is bounded in the North by Kolonnawa Urban Council area North - East by Kotikawatta -- Mulleriyawa Pradeshiya Sabha area East by Kaduwela Municipal Council area South - East by Maharagama Urban Council area South - West by Dehiwala - Mount Lavinia Municipal Council are West by Colombo Municipal Council area Contents 1 History 2 Legislature 3 Municipal structure 3.1 Zones 3.2 Wards 3.3 Grama Niladhari Division 4 Demographics 5 Infrastructure 5.1 Transport 5.2 Health 5.3 Education 6 Climate 7 Sports and recreation 8 Notable residents 9 See also 10 References 11 External links History Map of Kotte ( 1557 - 1565 ) The village of Darugama lay at the confluence of two streams, the Diyawanna Oya and the Kolonnawa Oya. As Darugama was a naturally secure place, it was not easy for enemies to enter it. Here, in the 13th century, a chieftain named Nissanka Alagakkonara built a Kotte ( meaning fortress ) Alagakkonara is mentioned by Ibn Batuta as ruling in Kurunegala, but other sources indicate that he was the Bandara ( Guardian ) of Raigama Korale ( county ) in the modern Kalutara District. Arya Chakravarthy 's army was held by Alagakkonara in front of Kotte, while he defeated the enemy 's invasion fleet at Panadura to the south - west. Kotte was a jala durgha ( water fortress ), in the shape of a triangle, with the Diyawanna Oya and Kolonnawa Oya marshes forming two long sides ; along the shorter third ( land ) side a large moat ( the ' inner moat ' ) was dug. The fortress was nearly 2.5 km ( 0.97 sq mi ) in area, fortified with ramparts of kabook or laterite rock, 2.5 metres ( 8 ft 2 in ) high and 10.7 metres ( 35 ft ) in breadth. In 1391, following the conquest of the Jaffna Kingdom by Prince Sapumal ( Sembahap Perumal ), Kotte was given the epithet ' Sri Jayawardhanapura ' ( ' resplendent city of growing victory ' ). It became the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Kotte, which it remained until the end of the 16th century. From the ramparts to the magnificent three storied buildings that housed the Kings Palace, Laterite and clay were the main raw material used in its construction. One of the places from which the laterite blocks were mined can be seen even today inside the premises of Ananda Sasthralaya ( a local school ). The main features of the capital city were - The King 's palace, with walls of quartz that sparkle in the moonlight ( candrakanta pasana ) and a golden spire, with beautiful flower gardens and springs of water. The three - storeyed Dalada Maligawa with Buddha 's sacred tooth relic in it ( Temple of the tooth ) The five - storeyed `` Arama '' where sixty Buddhist Bhikkus resided, with a Sangha Raja ( a high priest ) as the chief incumbent. The King 's Treasure House The ' Kotavehara ' at Baddagana, the only Buddhist temple of the city outside the moat and rampart. The Royal cemetery at Beddagana ( Veherakanda memorial ) The ' Angampitiya ', the military parade and training ground just inside the inner moat. The Portuguese arrived on the island in 1505 and were initially welcomed by the king. But they had militaristic and monopolistic intentions and gained control of the city by 1565. Failing to withstand repeated assaults by the forces of the neighbouring kingdom of Sitawaka, the city was abandoned by the Portuguese, who made Colombo their new capital. Like similar cities of that era, Sri Jayawardhanapura was built with security in mind. A rampart and moat protected the entire city. Traces of this moat and rampart are still visible today at certain places. Along parts of the rampart, encroachers have now built houses, garages and even toilets. The urbanisation of Kotte restarted in the 19th century. The archaeological remains were torn up and used as building materials ( a process that continues ) -- some of it even ending up in the Victoria Bridge, across the Kelani River. Legislature The New Parliament was inaugurated on 29 April 1982. The buildings were built on reclaimed land, after a massive lake was formed by dredging the marshlands around the Diyawanna Oya. The new parliamentary buildings were built on Duwa, a 50,000 square metre ( 12 acre ) island in the centre of the lake. The island ( off Baddegana Road, Pita Kotte ) had been used as a recreation and brawling spot for Portuguese soldiers in the last days of the Kotte era, alcohol being banned from the Royal City. It had belonged to E.W. Perera and had housed a chicken farm prior to being vested in the state. On 29 April 1982, the new parliamentary complex was declared open by the former president J.R. Jayewardene. The process of relocating government institutions from the former capital of Colombo is still in progress. Municipal structure Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is located at the south east of Colombo. The Kotte Urban Development Council was created in the 1930s, with a modern building at Rajagiriya. It was succeeded by the Kotte Urban Council, which had a large section of its area removed and tagged onto the Colombo Municipal Council ward of Borella while the Battaramulla urban council was dissolved and a small section of Battaramulla tagged onto the Kotte Urban Council. The Kotte Urban Council became the Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Municipal Council in 1997, with Chandra Silva as the first Mayor. There are 20 Members of the Municipal Council ( MMCs ), elected on proportional representation. There are 18 wards, but these are now merely polling divisions, without individual representation. Zones Pita Kotte Ethul Kotte Nawala Nugegoda Rajagiriya Wards Ward Map of Sri Jayawardanapura Kotte Municipal Council Ward No Ward Name 01 Obesekarapura 02 Moragasmulla 03 Meda Welikada 04 Rajagiriya 05 Bandaranayakapura 06 Nawala West 07 Koswatta 08 Ethulkotte 09 Pitakotte East 10 Pitakotte 11 Pitakotte West 12 Nawala East 13 Nugegoda West 14 Pagoda North 15 Gangodavila East 16 Pagoda South 17 Nugegoda East 18 Gangodavila West Grama Niladhari Division Division No Division Name 514 Welikada East 514A Welikada West 514B Rajagiriya 514C Obesekarapura 514D Welikada North 519 Nugegoda 519A Pagoda 519B Nugegoda West 519C Pagoda East 520 Nawala West 520A Koswatte 520B Nawala East 521 Ethul Kotte 521A Ethul Kotte West 522 Pitakotte West 522A Pitakotte East 522B Pitakotte 526 Gangodavila North 526A Gangodavila South 526C Gangodavila East Demographics Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious urban centre. According to the census of 2012 the demographics by ethnicity and religion is as follows : Religious & Ethnic Identification in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte 2012 Percentage Buddhist 82,841 77.06 % Roman Catholic 7,827 7.28 % Muslim 6,772 6.30 % Other Christian 5,040 4.69 % Hindu 4,864 4.52 % Other 164 0.15 % Total 107,508 100.00 % Sinhalese 91,268 84.89 % Sri Lankan Tamil 7,503 6.98 % Sri Lankan Moor 5,207 4.84 % Burgher 1,049 0.98 % Other 840 0.78 % Indian Tamil 801 0.75 % Malay 710 0.66 % Sri Lankan Chetty 72 0.07 % Baratha 58 0.05 % Total 107,508 100.00 % Infrastructure The HSBC Service Center The Parliament of Sri Lanka situated in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Transport The only main railway station is at Nugegoda, on the Kelani Valley Line. Also at Nugegoda is the main bus terminus. There is subsidiary bus stands at Pita Kotte. This urban area is well served by buses and there is a CTB bus depot at Udahamulla. In 2005, a Passenger boat service was being finalised and would commence adjacent to Parliament Junction at Bataramulla and end at the Wellawatte canal near Marine drive. Each journey would take around 30 minutes. It would have stations at the Kotte Marsh, Nawala, Open University, Apollo Hospital, Duplication road, Wellawatte and at St Peter 's College, Colombo. The Sri Lanka Navy is currently conducting a pilot project between the Open University and Wellawatte. Health The main hospital of area situated at Madivela known as Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital is a gift from the Japanese government. There is a dedicated Eye & ENT hospital at Rajagiriya, and another maternity hospital under construction in Nawala. A small private health centre, the Blue Cross Hospital at Rajagiriya, provides basic facilities for medical diagnostics, and there is a small nursing home in Park Lane, Welikada, much patronised by Maldivians. Education There are a number of State and Private Schools in Kotte. They are either `` National schools '' ( run by the central government ; Main School President 's College, Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte ), `` Government schools '' ( run by the Provincial Councils ), Semi-government / Private schools, or International schools ( run by trusts and individuals ; Gateway College Colombo is an example of the latter class of school ). The oldest English School on the island is Sri Jayawardenepura Maha Vidyalaya, formerly known as Christian College, located in Pita Kotte. The Ananda Sastralaya at Pita Kotte is the oldest Buddhist school in the city, and Anula Vidyalaya, Nugegoda is the biggest Buddhist girls school in South Asia, with over 5000 students. The Education Ministry as well as the Department of Examinations is based in Kotte. A considerable number of the students living within the zone study at government owned colleges and International schools in Colombo. Located at Nawala is the Open University, Sri Lanka, and at Nugegoda is the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Public Libraries are conveniently located, and can be found at Nugegoda and Rajagiriya. Climate Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte features a tropical rainforest climate ( Köppen : Af ), with little variation in temperatures throughout the course of the year. The city does feature wetter and drier months, with February on average being its driest month, seeing on average 63 mm ( 2.5 in ) of precipitation. However, since none of the average monthly precipitation falls below 60 mm ( 2.4 in ), Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte falls under the tropical rainforest climate category. Climate data for Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Average high ° C ( ° F ) 31.0 ( 87.8 ) 31.2 ( 88.2 ) 31.7 ( 89.1 ) 31.8 ( 89.2 ) 31.1 ( 88 ) 30.4 ( 86.7 ) 30.0 ( 86 ) 30.0 ( 86 ) 30.3 ( 86.5 ) 30.0 ( 86 ) 30.2 ( 86.4 ) 30.4 ( 86.7 ) 30.67 ( 87.22 ) Daily mean ° C ( ° F ) 26.6 ( 79.9 ) 26.9 ( 80.4 ) 27.7 ( 81.9 ) 28.2 ( 82.8 ) 28.3 ( 82.9 ) 27.9 ( 82.2 ) 27.5 ( 81.5 ) 27.6 ( 81.7 ) 27.5 ( 81.5 ) 27.0 ( 80.6 ) 26.7 ( 80.1 ) 26.6 ( 79.9 ) 27.38 ( 81.28 ) Average low ° C ( ° F ) 22.3 ( 72.1 ) 22.7 ( 72.9 ) 23.7 ( 74.7 ) 24.6 ( 76.3 ) 25.5 ( 77.9 ) 25.5 ( 77.9 ) 25.1 ( 77.2 ) 25.2 ( 77.4 ) 24.8 ( 76.6 ) 24.0 ( 75.2 ) 23.2 ( 73.8 ) 22.8 ( 73 ) 24.12 ( 75.42 ) Average precipitation mm ( inches ) 85 ( 3.35 ) 63 ( 2.48 ) 112 ( 4.41 ) 252 ( 9.92 ) 335 ( 13.19 ) 195 ( 7.68 ) 130 ( 5.12 ) 95 ( 3.74 ) 165 ( 6.5 ) 358 ( 14.09 ) 309 ( 12.17 ) 153 ( 6.02 ) 2,251 ( 88.62 ) Source # 1 : Free Meteo ( 1961 - 1990 ) Source # 2 : Weatherbase for precipitation Sports and recreation Diyatha Uyana Cricket is the most popular sport in this urban area as well as the country and is usually played in the grounds around the city. Association football was at one time the most popular sport in the Colombo area, although it was eclipsed by cricket after 1980. Four separate football clubs ( Lido, Welikada Progress, Welikada Red Star and Welikada United ) once used the EW Perera Park grounds at Welikada, Rajagiriya where a pavilion was constructed in the 1970s. However, when the grounds were destroyed by the JR Jayawardene regime in the late 1970s, the football clubs disappeared. Football continued to be played at the grounds at Obeysekerapura in Rajagiriya. In the 1990s the Kotte Municipal Council constructed the Chandra Silva Stadium, to replace the EW Perera Grounds. Part of the grounds was sold and later used to construct the HSBC building. In 2007 the Municipality, with aid from the Ministry of Urban Development, completed the first stage of the new Chandra Silva Stadium on the site of a rubbish dump behind the HSBC building. Recently, football has once more grown in popularity, and the sport now has a considerable following. The football association 's new training facility at Kotte is aimed at harnessing and developing the available talent and organizing the individual players into a cohesive team. It includes a football playground with a sprinkler system, gym and a host of other facilities. Other sports are mostly played in the numerous clubs and gyms, and include tennis, squash, billiards, horse riding, indoor cricket, badminton and table tennis. Horse riding can be pursued at the Premadasa Riding School in Nugegoda. Coordinates : 6 ° 54 ′ 39 '' N 79 ° 53 ′ 16.21 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 6.91083 ° N 79.8878361 ° E ﻿ / 6.91083 ; 79.8878361 Notable residents Edward Walter Perera ( 1875 -- 1953 ), a Ceylonese ( Sri Lankan ) barrister, politician and freedom fighter. Sir James Peter Obeyesekere II Maha Mudaliyar, JP ( 1879 - 1968 ), a Ceylonese colonial - era headmen, the last Head Mudaliyar and served as aide - de-camp to the British Governor of Ceylon and Governor General of Ceylon. Tissa Abeysekara ( 1939 -- 2009 ), an eminent film personality. See also University of Sri Jayewardenepura References Jump up ^ `` The Administrative Capital of Sri Lanka since 1982 is Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte ''. Official Sri Lanka government website. Archived from the original on 2014 - 12 - 20. Retrieved 2015 - 01 - 07. Jump up ^ `` Sri Lanka : A Country Study ''. Russell R. Ross and Andrea Matles Savada. Retrieved 2007 - 02 - 26. ^ Jump up to : http://www.ds.gov.lk/ds/kotte/english/index.php?p=cultural_background Jump up ^ Edmund Jayasuriya ( Tr ), sälaḷihini sandeśa of Toṭagamuve Srī Rāhula Thera, Colombo : Central Cultural Fund, 2002, ISBN 955 - 613 - 144 - 2 Jump up ^ `` European encroachment and dominance ''. U.S. Library of Congress. Retrieved 2007 - 02 - 26. Jump up ^ `` Sri Jayawardanapura Kotte Municipal Council - Colombo District ''. Jump up ^ `` Ward Map of Sri Jayawardanapura Kotte Municipal Council - Colombo District '' ( PDF ). Jump up ^ `` Department of Census and Statistics Sri Lanka - Population by ethnicity and district according to Divisional Secretary 's Division, 2012 ''. Jump up ^ `` Department of Census and Statistics Sri Lanka - Population by divisional secretariat division, religion and sex - 2012 '' ( PDF ). Jump up ^ `` Canal transport to ease traffic pile up ''. Chanuka Mannapperuma. Retrieved 2005 - 07 - 10. Jump up ^ `` Weather Forecast Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte : Averages ( 1961 - 1990 ) ''. Free Meteo. Retrieved 5 August 2013. Jump up ^ `` Kotte, Sri Lanka Travel Weather Averages ''. Weatherbase. Retrieved 2013 - 08 - 05. Jump up ^ `` National training centre for Football at Beddegana ''. Sri Lanka Football. Archived from the original on 2006 - 11 - 17. Retrieved 2007 - 02 - 26. External links Sri Lanka portal Find more aboutSri Jayawardenepura Kotteat Wikipedia 's sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Wikimedia Commons News from Wikinews Travel guide from Wikivoyage University of Sri Jayawardenepura 1400 - 1565 A. D Sri Lankan cities with a 50,000 + population 500,000 and more Colombo 200,000 -- 499,999 Dehiwala - Mount Lavinia Moratuwa 50,000 -- 249,999 Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte Negombo Kandy Kalmunai Vavuniya Galle Trincomalee Batticaloa Jaffna Katunayake Dambulla Kolonnawa Anuradhapura Ratnapura Metropolitan cities of Sri Lanka National capitals Colombo ( Commercial ) Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte ( Administrative ) Municipal councils Kandy Anuradhapura Galle Jaffna Ratnapura Badulla Kurunegala Kaduwela Dehiwala - Mount Lavinia Moratuwa Negombo Kalmunai Batticaloa Matara Gampaha Matale Akkaraipattu Bandarawela Nuwara Eliya Dambulla Hambantota Urban councils Trincomalee Ambalangoda Ampara Balangoda Beruwala Boralesgamuwa Chavakachcheri Chilaw Embilipitiya Eravur Gampola Haputale Hatton - Dickoya Hikkaduwa Horana Ja - Ela Kadugannawa Kalutara Kattankudy Katunayake Seeduwa Kegalle Kesbewa Kinniya Kolonnawa Kuliyapitiya Maharagama Mannar Minuwangoda Nawalapitiya Panadura Peliyagoda Point Pedro Puttalam Seethawakapura Talawakelle - Lindula Tangalle Valvettithurai Vavuniya Wattala Wattegama Weligama Note : also a Provincial capital, also a Municipal council Capitals of Asia Dependent territories and states with limited recognition are in italics North and Central Asia South Asia Southeast Asia West and Southwest Asia Ashgabat, Turkmenistan Astana, Kazakhstan * Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Dushanbe, Tajikistan Moscow, Russia * Tashkent, Uzbekistan East Asia Beijing, China Hong Kong, Hong Kong ( China ) Macau, Macau ( China ) Pyongyang, North Korea Seoul, South Korea Taipei, Taiwan ( ROC ) Tokyo, Japan Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Kabul, Afghanistan Dhaka, Bangladesh Diego Garcia, BIOT ( UK ) Islamabad, Pakistan Kathmandu, Nepal Kotte / Colombo, Sri Lanka Malé, Maldives New Delhi, India Thimphu, Bhutan Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Bangkok, Thailand Dili, East Timor Flying Fish Cove, Christmas Island ( Australia ) Hanoi, Vietnam Jakarta, Indonesia * Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Manila, Philippines Naypyidaw, Myanmar Phnom Penh, Cambodia Singapore Vientiane, Laos West Island, Cocos ( Keeling ) Islands ( Australia ) Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Amman, Jordan Ankara, Turkey * Baghdad, Iraq Baku, Azerbaijan * Beirut, Lebanon Cairo, Egypt * Doha, Qatar Jerusalem, Israel / Palestine † Kuwait City, Kuwait Manama, Bahrain Muscat, Oman Nicosia, Cyprus * North Nicosia, Northern Cyprus * Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Sana'a, Yemen Stepanakert, Artsakh * Sukhumi, Abkhazia * Tbilisi, Georgia * Tehran, Iran Tskhinvali, South Ossetia * Yerevan, Armenia * * Transcontinental country. † Disputed. See : Positions on Jerusalem. VIAF : 131376549 GND : 1027780792 BNF : cb16639992s ( data ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sri_Jayawardenepura_Kotte&oldid=837355276 '' Categories : Capitals in Asia Planned cities Populated places in Western Province, Sri Lanka Planned capitals Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Colombo Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from September 2010 Articles needing additional references from February 2017 All articles needing additional references Articles containing Sinhalese - language text Articles containing Tamil - language text All articles with vague or ambiguous time Vague or ambiguous time from June 2015 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2015 Coordinates on Wikidata Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikivoyage Acèh Afrikaans অসমীয়া Asturianu Авар Azərbaycanca বাংলা Bân - lâm - gú Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Bikol Central Български Bosanski Brezhoneg Català Cebuano Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Fiji Hindi Français Frysk Gaeilge Gàidhlig 客家 語 / Hak - kâ - ngî 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hrvatski Ilokano Bahasa Indonesia Ирон Íslenska Italiano ಕನ್ನಡ ქართული Қазақша Kiswahili Kreyòl ayisyen Кыргызча Latina Latviešu Lëtzebuergesch Lietuvių Magyar मैथिली Македонски മലയാളം मराठी მარგალური Bahasa Melayu Mìng - dĕ̤ng - ngṳ̄ Монгол Nederlands नेपाली 日本 語 Нохчийн Norsk Norsk nynorsk Occitan ਪੰਜਾਬੀ پنجابی Polski Português Qaraqalpaqsha Română Русский Scots Shqip සිංහල Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina کوردی Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska தமிழ் ไทย Тоҷикӣ Türkçe Удмурт Українська اردو Vepsän kel ' Tiếng Việt Winaray Yorùbá 粵語 中文 89 more Edit links This page was last edited on 20 April 2018, at 09 : 16. 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Question: when did sri jayawardenepura kotte become the capital
Answer: 1391