Dutch Reformed Church Colombo
Wolvendaal Church (Wolvendaalse Kerk) or better known as the Dutch reformed church Colombo is situated in Pettah, near the centre of Colombo. It is one of the main and well-preserved Dutch Colonial period structures in Sri Lanka and is one of the most ancient Protestant holy places in Sri Lanka and is still being used in the country.
Table of Contents
- Dutch reformed church Galle
- History of Dutch Reformed Church Colombo
- Foundation of Dutch Reformed Church Colombo
- Architecture of Dutch Reformed Church Colombo
- Important structures in the Dutch Reformed Church Colombo
- Current use of Dutch reformed Church Colombo
Wolvendaal Church (Wolvendaalse Kerk) or better known as the Dutch reformed church is situated in Pettah, near the centre of Colombo. It is one of the main and well-preserved Dutch Colonial period structures in Sri Lanka and is one of the most ancient Protestant holy places in Sri Lanka and is still being used in the country. The Dutch-reformed church of Colombo is one of the oldest monuments in Colombo and is part of most city tours.
Dutch reformed church Galle
Dutch reformed church is another similar kind of construction carried out by Dutch administrators in the past. The architecture of the Galle church is identical to the architecture of the Dutch-reformed church Colombo. The travellers visit the Dutch reformed during their Galle sightseeing tour. The Galle Dutch reformed church is located within the Galle Fort and it was mainly serving the official of Dutch administration at that time.
History of Dutch Reformed Church Colombo
In 1736 Legislative leader of Ceylon, Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff, looked for endorsement from the Dutch East India Organization (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC) to remove the current church (Kasteel Kerk) inside the Colombo Fort and construct another one on the same site. Notwithstanding, the VOC rejected this solicitation, and it was only after the appearance of Lead representative Julius Valentyn Stein van Gollenesse in 1743 that the stalemate survived.
He decided that the new church would be built beyond the city border, which was swamp and marshland at that time. The Europeans were confused saw the packs of wandering jackals and thought it was wolves, and the region became known as Wolvendaal (Wolf’s Dale or Wolf’s Valley). The site that was chosen was on a hill which commanded a clear view across the town and over the harbour and was in the vicinity of the town’s entry. The site was likewise home to a little church, which had existed from the earliest time of Dutch occupation when the Wolvendaal area was a calm rural parish.
Foundation of Dutch Reformed Church Colombo
The groundworks of the church were laid in 1749 and it required eight years to finish the construction. It was finished on 6th March 1757, when it was opened to the public by Rev. Matthias Wirmelskircher, rector of the Colombo Seminary. At the dedication there were two Lead representatives present, Joan Gideon Loten and his replacement Jan Schreuder, along with members from the Council, Reverend ministers (Predikants), conspicuous Burghers and their families.
Architecture of Dutch Reformed Church Colombo
The church was developed in the Doric style of the period, as a Greek cross (for example legs of equivalent length), with walls almost 1.5m (five feet) thick, built of uncommonly huge kabok (clay ironstone) with coral and lime plaster. The high rooftop in the structure looks like a vault and was initially curved with block and roofed in blue Bangor record rooftop tiles conquered with a baldfaced lion. This lion had a crown on its head, bearing a blade in one hand and seven bolts in the other, representing the seven united territories of the Dutch Republic. In 1856, an electrical discharge obliterated the lion and extensively damaged the dome. The rooftop was subsequently replaced with an iron guard. The church is fit for seating 1,000 people.
Important structures in the Dutch Reformed Church Colombo
Gravestones of reverend Henricus Philipszoon and his significant other Susanna Scharff Inside the church there is an unequivocally developed State Pew (to accommodate the Dutch Governor) with various ebony and calamander church seats (kerkstoels), dating back to the seventeenth and eighteenth century. The baptismal text style, on a tripod stand, traces all the way back to 1667. The pulpit is unique to the Dutch Reformed Church, where the clergyman stands higher than the gathering on a lavishly ornamented wooden construction. On the walls of the church are numerous tablets with murals while there are a lot more incorporated into the outer walls.
The floor is cleared with rock flagstones (purportedly brought from Holland) interspersed with engraved gravestones, of the individuals who untruth covered inside the congregation or whose remains were migrated from the Kasteel Kerk. Numerous popular names of long-term Sri Lankan history, Dutch, Burgher, Singhalese, Tamil and English, can be found among the tombstones inside and outside the congregation. There are five Dutch Lead representatives covered at the congregation, including the last Lead representative, Johan Gerard van Angelbeek, who kicked the bucket in Colombo in 1799, three years after the British occupation.
From the time of its dedication, all the way to the completion of Dutch rule Wolvendaal was the top spot of awe, in spite of the fact that Kasteel Kerk remained the main seat for the European and local authorities of the VOC, until it was obliterated in 1813.
Current use of Dutch reformed Church Colombo
The Dutch Reformed Church is right now known as the Christian Reformed Church of Sri Lanka. The Church has several locations all throughout the Colombo region. Wolvendaal Church is the main Dutch Church in Sri Lanka that has been constantly being used, within 2018 administrations in Tamil, Sinhalese and English each Sunday. A comparative Dutch Reformed Church building is the Groote Kerk in Galle.
In January 2005 the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) laid out the Wolvendaal Foundation to protect the Church’s design. Its definitive point is to additional friendly relations between the different races and religions
