The Fort of Ameixoeira, also known as the
King Carlos I Fort, is located in the former parish of
Ameixoeira, now part of the
Santa Clara parish of
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, capital of
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. It currently serves as the headquarters of the ''
Serviço de Informações de Segurança
The ''Serviço de Informações de Segurança'' or SIS (Portuguese for: Security Information Service) is the Portuguese Intelligence and Secret Service agency founded in 1984.
The function of SIS is to guarantee the internal security and prevent ...
'' (SIS), the Portuguese Security and Intelligence Service. It was constructed as part of the ''
Campo Entrincheirado
The ''Campo Entrincheirado'' (Entrenched Field) is a group of fortifications built at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century to protect the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, against invasion. It followed the boundaries of the city ...
'' (Entrenched Field), a group of fortifications built at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century to protect Lisbon against possible invasion.
History
The first archival references to the construction project of a fort at Ameixoeira date from November 20, 1875. However, progress in construction was slow. Excavation and earth-removal work was completed only by the end of 1888 and the building was not finished until December 1901. At this time, it was garrisoned by an artillery regiment, although necessary lighting work was not completed until 1906. The fort was named after the then King of Portugal, D. Carlos I. It originally covered approximately 73,900 m
2, but around 5,400 m
2 was lost when a new road was constructed. The covered area is 19,019 m
2.
[
In the context of the crisis that led to the fall of the First Portuguese Republic, the fort suffered an assault on 11 August 1924 as part of an attempted but unsuccessful military coup by supporters of ]Manuel Gomes da Costa
Manuel de Oliveira Gomes da Costa , commonly known as Manuel Gomes da Costa () or just Gomes da Costa (14 January 1863 – 17 December 1929), was a Portuguese army officer and politician, the tenth president of Portugal and the second of ...
. After World War I, the concept of a fixed defence, on which the Campo Entrincheirado was based, became obsolete and the forts began to be used for other purposes. Some were used for anti-aircraft positions, while the Fort of Ameixoeira's 88 storerooms were used for ammunition deposits. On 28 September 1943 one of the storerooms exploded, killing six soldiers and completely destroying the south wing of the building. The cause of the explosion has never been fully determined.[
]
The present
Reconstruction only started in 1950. Concurrently with the reconstruction work on the south wing, the north wing also saw significant improvements. Modern water, sewage and electricity installations were installed at that time. The fort then continued to function as a warehouse until 1989. After that it became very degraded, reportedly being used by drug addicts.[
]
References
{{Bastion forts in Portugal, state=collapsed
Ameixoeira
Campo Entrincheirado