Forte da Ponta da Bandeira description and photos - Portugal: Lagos (Topic)

Forte da Ponta da Bandeira description and photos - Portugal: Lagos. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The name in English is Forte da Ponta da Bandeira.

Photo and description

Fort Ponta de Bandeira, also known as Fort Nossa Senhora da Pena de Franca, is located outside the city walls of Lagos.

The fortress was built at the end of the 17th century and was part of the defensive system of Lagos. At the end of the 17th century, the coast of the Algarve was very often attacked by pirates. Lagos, which was once the capital of the Algarve, also suffered from them, as it was a port city. Defensive walls were built surrounding the city, but they were located at some distance from the coast, so the coast remained unprotected. And then the governor of the Algarve, Count Sarzedosh, decided to build a fort next to the port.

Construction began between 1679 and 1683 and was completed in 1690. The only way to get into the fortress was through a drawbridge over a deep moat dug in front of the entrance. The fort is one of the latest defensive structures in Lagos, and besides, the fort is well preserved to this day. It is worth noting that the fortress was being built at a time when Portugal was waging a war for its independence from Spain.

The fort is built in the shape of a square, there are watchtowers at the corners of the fort. Inside the fort there is a chapel of St. Barbara, the walls of which are decorated with azulesos tiles from the late 18th century. There are also barracks inside, in which various exhibitions are held from time to time. Visitors can climb up to the cannon platform at the top of the fort, and from there look into the watchtowers.

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Topic: Forte da Ponta da Bandeira description and photos - Portugal: Lagos.