Royal Palace Of The Kandyan Kingdom

2012
FEB 10

A residual remnant of the past dating as far back as the 14th century, the Royal Palace of the Kandyan Kingdom lies tucked away near the valleys of Kandy as reminiscence of the last Kandyan King, Wickrama Rajasinghe.
Magul Maduwa Very little of the structure remains today which consisted of the Royal Court (Magul Maduwa) and the Temple of Tooth among other displays of architectural brilliance. Seeped in ancient history that’s seen the palace burned down and rebuilt a number of times, it has also witnessed sacred beliefs.
The Temple of Tooth is said to have a relic of Lord Buddha’s tooth. Popular belief had it, that whoever possessed the tooth was divinely blessed with the right to rule the land. Many wars were fought domestically to gain the relic, while foreign invaders like the Portuguese also had some involvement in the sacred item changing hands. In fact the Royal Palace of Kandy itself was built to enshrine the Sacred Tooth.
On the other side of the Royal Palace, is the Victorian building built by the British during their sub continental rule. The building marks the British influence on the Sri Lankan legal system, with the Kandy High Court being situated there for years before recently changing base to Ampara in Eastern Sri Lanka.   
The Royal Court presents another architectural beauty. Built in the 18th century by Wickrama Rajasinghe where he met his Royal Court, the structure also marks a significant British chapter in Kandy as it was here, that the Chieftains of Kandy (Radalas) signed the Kandyan Convention to end the Kandyan Kingdom. Incidentally, it is also the last know native rule in Sri Lanka.
Apart from the Temple of the Tooth, all the other structures within the palace are now run by the Department of Archaeology as part of the National Museum of Kandy.

Minolma-Fenandiz

Minolma Fenandiz is a writing articles, script, stories for newspapers   magazines. Professional blogger and author of "Sri Lanka Gude Book".