Portugal · 16th century
The Peniche Fortress is located in the municipality of Peniche in Oeste region of Portugal. Built on the site of the former Castle of Atouguia da Baleia, of which only a few vestiges remain, initial construction took place in 1557 and 1558 but there have been numerous subsequent modifications. Its defensive walls surround an area of two hectares, divided into upper and lower parts. The fortress has served a number of functions including that of a political prison during the authoritarian Estado Novo regime. It now contains a museum devoted to the resistance to the Estado Novo.
Text adapted from “Peniche Fortress” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Peniche Fortress ranks #3,429 of 9,035 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #39 of the 212 mapped in Portugal. Founded 1558, it is older than 36% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 886 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,774 times in the last 60 days, more than 66% of the atlas. 4 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Caldas da Rainha, 22 km away. See how Portugal compares in the castle statistics.
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