Trincomalee

8.5750881.2294766666678Koordinaten: 8 ° 35 'N, 81 ° 14' O

Trincomalee tamil. திருகோணமலை, Tirunkonamalai; means: திருகோணேச்வரம் மலை = The Temple. ( Tirukoneswaram was and is the symbol of Trincomaleee and malai means mountain or hill )

Trincomalee is the capital of the Eastern Province and is located in the northeast of Sri Lanka, about 180 km northeast of the city of Kandy. She has one of the largest natural deep-water ports in the world. Frequently, the abbreviation Trinco is used for the place.

History

Trincomalee has a very eventful history. At the site of the present temple of the legendary Temple of the Thousand Pillars once supposed to have been. In 1622 it was destroyed by the Portuguese. They dumped him over a cliff into the sea.

Danes tried in 1617 on behalf of the Dutch unsuccessfully to conquer Trincomalee. At that time, Portugal was a colonial power in Trincomalee and maintained a fort during the 17th century followed several alternation of power between the Dutch, French, Portuguese and British, until finally in 1782 Trincomalee until the independence of Sri Lanka fell into the hands of the British. From August 25 - 3rd September 1782 the Battle of Trincomalee took place. It is a battle that was fought between the British and French in the context of the American Unabhängkeitskrieges and won the French. During World War II Trincomalee gained due to the port a major military importance to the British after Singapore fell to the Japanese army. Trincomalee was on April 9, 1942 as the only city in Sri Lanka's target of a Japanese air attack. This was part of the Japanese attack in the Indian Ocean.

Trincomalee today

The port city is located in the part of the country is inhabited by Tamils. In the past repeatedly occurred tensions between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE) and the Sinhalese, the largest ethnic group living in Sri Lanka.

Today, the port has no economic significance.

Trincomalee was severely affected by the earthquake in the Indian Ocean in 2004. Large parts of the harbor area were destroyed.

Relay station Deutsche Welle

In 1984, the German wave opened a relay station in Trincomalee. A 1548 kHz medium wave transmitter and three short-wave transmitters were henceforth for study abroad programs in Asia and Oceania are available. Due to the civil war flared up, the relay station was inactive shortly after its opening for some years, but was then put back into operation. In November 2011, the relay station was completely abandoned in the course of program cuts Deutsche Welle.

Attractions

A few kilometers west of Trincomalee is the miracle of the Hot Wells: Multiple sources, despite the close proximity have different temperatures. In addition to these sources, there is a small market, can be purchased through, among other refreshments.

About 12 km north of Trincomalee Nilaveli is situated near the small resort island Pigeon Iceland with coral beach. The island can be reached only by boat. Nilaveli has a beach, some of this is in the hotel privately owned.

Trincomalee and the national question of the Tamils

The Tamil liberation movement looks Trincomalee, in the case of qualifying for state independence, as the capital of the future state, " Tamil Eelam ". Originally Tamils ​​ruled over this area and built in the city of the great " Tirukoneswaram " Shiva temple of the " Thousand Columns ". The Tamil rule ended with the Portuguese occupation of the city. Trincomalee would be important for an independent Tamil state due to the strategically important port and its potential economic importance.

Climate

The climate is tropical and humid in Trincomalee and insbesonsere extremely hot in the summer months. Due to the relatively small temperature variations jahereszeitlichen only distinguishes between rain and dry seasons. The rainy season lasts from September to March, then there is the northeast monsoon before, bringing the moist air masses to the east coast of Sri Lanka. The dry season lasts from April to August. The temperatures are in the rainy season at about 28 to 30 degrees Celsius at night they drop to about 24 degrees. The humidity is at this time very high ( over 80%), so it comes in part to oppressive sultry. In the dry season, daytime temperatures are about 34-35 degrees Celsius, and they can rise to over 38 degrees. Even in the nights then it is hardly cooler, the temperatures are 26-30 degrees. The humidity is at this time not quite as high ( 50 %), but that's enough to make unbearable temperatures sometimes.