Fortress
Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora da Conceição do Ilhéu
🇵🇹 Portugal · 17th century
The fortress Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora da Conceição do Ilhéu existed on an islet in the bay by the harbour of Funchal on Madeira.
The first proposal to build a fortress on the islet appeared as early as 1553. The main reason was the defence of the harbour against pirates. The work dragged on for almost a hundred years. It was accelerated by the war for Portugal's independence from Spain (1640–1668).
After the First World War the harbour was enlarged. Today the former islet is part of the pier and the harbour's control station is located on it.
Machine-translated from “Forte do Ilhéu (Funchal)” on the Czech Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora da Conceição do Ilhéu ranks #7,243 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #199 of the 200 mapped in Portugal. Founded 1700, it is older than 22% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 580 atlas entries founded in the 17th century. 4 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Portugal compares in the castle statistics.
View on the interactive castle map →Frequently asked questions
Where is Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora da Conceição do Ilhéu?
Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora da Conceição do Ilhéu stands in Portugal, at 32.64111°, -16.91528°.
When was Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora da Conceição do Ilhéu built?
The atlas dates its founding to 1700. Earlier structures may have stood on the site; this is the earliest documented founding year.
How famous is Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora da Conceição do Ilhéu?
In this atlas's fame ranking: #7,243 of 7,738 worldwide, and #199 in Portugal. Fame here combines how many Wikipedia language editions cover a landmark with how many people read them.
What is the nearest castle to Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora da Conceição do Ilhéu?
Palácio de São Lourenço, about 1 km away.
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