Sri Jayawardenepura-Kotte தனபுர கோட்டே), also known simply as Kotte (Singhalese කෝට්ටේ, there. கோட்டை) is the capital of Sri Lanka (since 1982), the seat of the country’s parliament. Suburb of the country’s largest city, Colombo.

History
The city arose around the Kotte fortress, built in the 13th century. Kotte was a “water fortress” built on a triangle formed by the Diyavanna Oya and Kolonnava Oya rivers; a ditch was dug on the third side. The 2.5 km² fortress was protected by laterite walls 2.5 meters high and 10.7 meters wide.
In 1391, after the conquest of the kingdom of Jaffna by Prince Sapumal, Kotte received the epithet ‘Sri Jayawardhanepura’ (‘resplendent city of growing victory’). Kotte was the capital of the kingdom of Kotte, which existed until the end of the 16th century.

The Portuguese arrived on the island in 1505 and took control of the city in 1565. However, unable to protect the city from the neighboring kingdom of Sitawaka, the Portuguese abandoned Kotte and made Colombo their capital.
The new urbanization of Kotte began in the 19th century. At this time, many monuments were lost, the elements of which were used in new construction, for example, the Victoria Bridge (across the Kelani River).
Since April 29, 1982, Kotte has been the official seat of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. The parliamentary complex was built on an island in the middle of a lake on the Diyavanna Oya River. The process of transferring the government has not yet been completed.

Natural conditions
The climate is tropical because the capital is located near the equator. Therefore, even high temperatures are maintained throughout the year. In the lowlands, the average annual temperatures are +26-28 degrees Celsius. The difference between the average temperatures of the hottest and relatively cool months does not exceed 2-5 degrees. The greatest amount of rain falls in the summer, when moisture-saturated southwest monsoon winds dominate. The summer monsoon starts in May and ends in September. At the height of the monsoon period, in June-August, it rains daily, often it is stormy showers. The average rainfall is up to 2000 mm per year.

Population
The population of the city is about 150,000 inhabitants. 70% of the inhabitants are Sinhalese, 20% are Tamils, some of the rest belong to the descendants of the most ancient population – the Vedas. The official languages ​​are Sinhalese and Tamil. Sinhala is only spoken in Sri Lanka and its capital. 75% of the country’s population are Buddhists. Another 15% are Hindus (mainly Tamils), about 10% of the population are Christians and Muslims; both religions are distinguished by a mixed ethnic composition.