Most visited Tourism Destinations places in Colombo - Independence Square

 

Independence Memorial Hall  is a national monument in Sri Lanka built for the commemoration of the independence of Sri Lanka from British rule, with the restoration of full governing responsibility to a Ceylonese-elected legislature on 4 February 1948. It is located in Independence Square in the Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo. It also houses the Independence Memorial Museum.

The monument was built at the location where the formal ceremony marking the start of self-rule, with the opening of the first parliament by Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester occurred at a special podium on 4 February 1948.

Located at the head of the monument is the statue of the first prime minister of the country Rt. Hon. D. S.Senanayake "The Father of the Nation". Most of the annual National Independence Day celebrations have been held here. Apart from being a monument, it served as the ceremonial assembly hall for the Senate of Ceylon and the House of Representatives of Ceylon until the parliament was moved to the new parliament complex. Currently it is the venue for religious events and annual national day celebrations.

The building was designed by a group of eight notable architects led by Tom Neville Wynne-Jones CBE, and included F. H. Billimoria, Shirley de Alwis, Oliver Weerasinghe, Homi Billimoria, Justin Samarasekera, and M. B. Morina. The design of the building is based on the "Magul Maduwa" the Royal audience hall of the Kingdom of Kandy the last native kingdom of the island, where on 5 March 1815 the Kandyan Convention was signed between the British and the Kandyian Chieftains  ending the Kingdom of Kandy.