The Fort of Milreu, also known as the Fort of St. Peter of Milreu ( pt, Forte de São Pedro de Milreu ), is situated on the Atlantic coast 3km north of the town of

Ericeira Ericeira () is a civil parish and seaside community on the western coast of Portugal (in Mafra municipality, about 45km northwest of Lisbon) considered the surfing capital of Europe for being the only European spot among the World Surfing Reserves ...

Lisbon District Lisbon District ( pt, Distrito de Lisboa, ) is a district located along the western coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Lisbon, which is also the national capital. From its creation until 1926, it included the area of the cur ...

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 ...

. Part of a programme to extend Portugal's coastal defences, it was built between 1670 and 1675.

History

The Fort of Milreu, was built after the

Portuguese Restoration War The Portuguese Restoration War ( pt, Guerra da Restauração) was the war between History of Portugal (1640–1777), Portugal and Habsburg Spain, Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon (1668), ...

between Portugal and Spain. Lessons learned from this war, which ended with the

Treaty of Lisbon (1668) The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain that was concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668 with the mediation of England in which Spain recognised the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Bra ...

, convinced the Portuguese of the need to reorganise their coastal defences by building numerous fortresses and forts along the entire coastline of the country. The choice of Milreu as a location to erect a fort was because this was the ideal place to both defend against maritime access to Ericeira from the north and protect against landings on the Beach of Ribeira de Ilhas, immediately to the north of the fort. By 1680 the fort was already garrisoned, supplied with artillery and in full operation. Rectangular in shape and in a

Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...

style, it consisted of a battery with cannons, two circular

bartizan A bartizan (an alteration of ''bratticing''), also called a guerite, ''garita'', or ''échauguette'', or spelled bartisan, is an overhanging, wall-mounted turret projecting from the walls of late medieval and early-modern fortifications from the ...

s with a conical cover, three barracks and a guardhouse. A side staircase, led to a terrace protected by a

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

. However, by 1751 it was reported to be in a poor condition as a result of a harsh winter and this was aggravated by the earthquake on 1 November 1755. By 1796 the garrison consisted of 7 soldiers and 5 gunners, and the artillery one bronze cannon and five iron cannon. The fort was abandoned in 1806 and by 1821 it was reported to be in an advanced state of ruin. Significant repairs were made in 1831-32 during the

Portuguese Civil War The Liberal Wars (), also known as the Portuguese Civil War (), the War of the Two Brothers () or Miguelite War (), was a war between liberal constitutionalists and conservative absolutists in Portugal over royal succession that lasted from 1 ...

and in 1832 it was garrisoned by

Miguelist In the history of Portugal, a Miguelist (in Portuguese ''Miguelista'') was a supporter of the legitimacy of the king Miguel I of Portugal. The name is also given to those who supported absolutism as form of government, in opposition to the libe ...

forces and artillery. However, by 1853 it was again abandoned and in a degraded state. In 1871, parts of the fort were used in the rebuilding of the Church of São Pedro da Ericeira. With no remaining military function its bronze cannon were sent to

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 ...

in 1880 and it was occupied by the Portuguese Fiscal Guard in 1891. Some repair work was carried out between 1908 and 1910 but this ceased with the dissolution of the monarchy in 1910. In 1940, work finally began to restore the fort but the following year it officially ceased to be considered a military fortification and responsibility for its management was handed over to the Ministry of Finance. Between 1946 and 1992 there were many ideas for the use of the building, such as a café or restaurant, but none materialised. The Fort of Milreu was classified as a Property of Public Interest in 1977 and the Directorate General of National Buildings and Monuments (DGEMN) rebuilt the wall and made other repairs in 1984 and in 2001. Nevertheless in 2019 it remained in a degraded condition.

References

{{Bastion forts in Portugal, state=collapsed Milreu National monuments in Lisbon District Mafra, Portugal