Housed in a massive white building in Colombo is Sri Lanka National Museum, holding thousands of treasures from the country’s past. The moment you set your eyes on this museum, you would be able to tell that it is a colonial structure, built like most other European buildings. EstablishmentDoors to this premiere cultural wealth were opened on 1st January 1877. It was founded by Sir William Henry Gregory, the then British Governor of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), who was persuaded by the Royal Asiatic Society (CB) for opening up a public museum. At the time of its establishment it was known as the Colombo Museum. The CollectionHundreds of years have been stored inside the largest museum in Sri Lanka. As you enter the building, a 9th-century stone Buddha statue receives you with an enigmatic smile. The collection on the lower floor has been categorized in a chronological order and on the upper floor, relics have been kept as per their themes. Museum LibraryA major share of the collection is kept inside the museum library. Here you will find ancient documents, inscriptions on palm leaves, books and publications of the 18th century and even periodicals in local and foreign languages.
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One of the six Commonwealth War Cemeteries of Sri Lanka is located in Kandy and often referred to as Kandy War Cemetery. This beautiful but melancholic site is the final resting place of those who died defending this country during the Second World War. It is located near the Mahaweli riverside and was formerly known as Pitakande Military Cemetery, before the charge of its maintenance was taken over by Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It is said that this burial ground is one of the most beautifully landscaped and maintained ones in the world. During World War IIHaving a strategic position in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka or Ceylon as it was then known, had an important naval and airbase set up here. It was also the site of jungle warfare training center, a hospital and a leave center. When the military headquarters were shifted from Burma to Ceylon, Kandy played a vital role during and after that time. Graves and MemorialsThis cemetery has 201 graves of those who dies in war, belonging to different nationalities. Amongst them, 107 are Britons, 35 East Africans, 26 Sri Lankans, 23 Indians 6 Canadians, 3 Italians and 1 Frenchman. In 1973, a memorial was erected here bearing the names of 28 Italian war prisoners who died here during the WW2 years.
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