Wolvendaal Church
Western Province
About Wolvendaal Church
Wolvendaal Church is the finest Dutch colonial building in Sri Lanka and one of the oldest Protestant churches in continuous use in Asia: consecrated in 1749 on a Pettah hill the Dutch mistook for wolf country ('Wolvendaal' - vale of wolves; the 'wolves' were jackals), it has held services without interruption through empire, independence, and the transformation of the streets below into Colombo's most frenetic bazaar. The church is built like Dutch conviction itself - a Doric cruciform with walls a metre and a half thick - and its floor and walls carry a necropolis of VOC history: the carved tombstones of Dutch governors and merchants, transferred from the old Fort church, pave the aisles with heraldry and mortality. Original ebony-and-calamander furniture, the wineglass pulpit, and Sunday services in three languages complete a living monument. Pair it with Pettah's Red Mosque for the old town's two great silhouettes.
Top Activities
- ✓The 1749 Doric church and its furnishings
- ✓Governors' tombstones in the floor
- ✓Pettah heritage walk with the Red Mosque
- ✓Sunday services (visitors welcome)
- ✓Colonial Colombo photography
Nearby Attractions
Travel Tips
The caretaker opens the church on request outside service times - donate.
Read the tombstones; the inscriptions are extraordinary time capsules.
Combine with a Pettah bazaar walk while the morning is cool.
Quick Info
Best Time
Year-round; weekday mornings
Weather
The thick walls keep the interior remarkably cool.
Estimated Daily Budget
6.9394°N, 79.8567°E
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