The Fort of Leça da Palmeira (), or alternately the Castle of Matosinhos () is a 17th-century fort located in

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Leça da Palmeira Leça da Palmeira () is an area in the Portuguese city of Matosinhos north of the Leça river. It was a civil parish until 2013, when it was merged with the parish of Matosinhos, forming Matosinhos e Leça da Palmeira. The parish covered and had ...

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Matosinhos Matosinhos () is a City#Portugal, city and a Concelho, municipality in the district of Porto District, Porto in Portugal. The municipality covers an area of approximately and had 172,557 inhabitants in 2021. It is bordered by the municipalities o ...

in the Greater Porto region of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

History

The fort was begun in 1638 in the area known as ''Santa Catarina'' by João Sá e Meneses, then Count of Penaguião, which they initially designated as the ''Forte de Nossa Senhora das Neves da Barra de Leça'' (''Fort of Our Layd of the Snows of the Leça Sandbar''). The objective of this fortification was to reinforce the sandbar of the mouth of the Douro, in conjunction with the Fort of São Francisco Xavier do Queijo, and the Fort of São João da Foz. With the beginning of the

Portuguese Restoration War The Restoration War (), historically known as the Acclamation War (''Guerra da Aclamação''), was the war between Portugal and Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, bringing a forma ...

in 1640, the conclusion of the project took on a greater importance. But, by 1642, the fort was not yet completed, such that officials of the municipal council of Porto petitioned King John IV to force the quick conclusion of the public works. The construction only continued in 1646, and two years later the first garrison of six soldiers was instituted by royal order. But, the establishment of the garrison did not mean the construction was concluded. In 1655, a new petition was sent to the King, yet the construction would drag onto the next century. In 1701, the fort, still uncompleted, was home for a larger group of soldiers, artillery emplacements and four cannons. It was only in 1720 that the fort was finally completed. During the

Liberal Wars The Liberal Wars (), also known as the Portuguese Civil War () and the War of the Two Brothers () was a civil war in Portugal that lasted from May 1828 to May 1834, fought between liberal progressive constitutionalists (led by former King P ...

, around 1832, the fort had suffered some damage, and reconstruction were completed in the warehouses, the drawbridge, internal staircase and the parapets. A few years later, the fort lost its military function, with the removal of the garrison, and in 1844 the main square became the location of the customs house of Porto. In the 20th century, the fort was transferred to the Captaincy of the Port of Leixões, where they installed their services. In 1962, a landscaping project was completed by Ilídio de Araújo, who beautified the grounds and area around the fort.

Architecture

The fort is located along the urban shoreline of the civil parish of Leça da Palmeira, implanted in front of the Port of Leixões, and encircled by homes and residences. The fort is a typical design in the form of a star pattern, with four points, protected by angular curtain wall and

barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...

s. The fort still has some cannons along its battlements. Apart from a few dependencies associated with its service as fortification, the rest of the interior is occupied by constructions uncharacteristic of this service, constructed to service the Captaincy of the Porto Leixões, including aerials, communications antennas and service buildings.

References

; Citations ; Sources * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fort of Leca de Palmeira Leca da Palmeira Buildings and structures in Porto District Matosinhos Coastal fortifications in Portugal