View source for Fort Nossa Senhora da Luz (Lagos)

{{Infobox military installation
| name            = Fort Nossa Senhora da Luz
| ensign          =
| ensign_size     =
| native_name     = Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora da Luz <br> Castelo da Senhora da Luz
| type            = Castle
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| image           = Praia da Luz Portugal February 2015 14.jpg
| caption         = Interior facade of the former-Castle of Senhora da Luz
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| image_map             =
| map_caption           = Location of the castro in the municipality of [[Alandroal]]
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| pushpin_relief        =
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| coordinates           = {{coord|37|5|6.6|N|8|43|49.8|W|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes =
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| partof           =
| location         = [[Faro (district)|Faro]], [[Algarve]], [[Algarve]]
| nearest_town     =
| country          = [[Portugal]]
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| ownership        = Portuguese Republic
| operator         = Private
| open_to_public   = Public
| site_area        =
| built            = 17th century
| used             =
| builder          =
| materials        = Stone, Masonry, Wood, Tile
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}}
The Fort '''Nossa Senhora da Luz''' ({{langx|pt|Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora da Luz}}), also known locally as '''Castle of Senhora da Luz''' ({{langx|pt|Castelo da Senhora da Luz}}) is a fort in the [[freguesia|civil parish]] of [[Praia da Luz|Luz]], municipality of [[Lagos, Portugal|Lagos]] in the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] [[Algarve]], classified as a ''Property of Public Interest'' (''Imóvel de Interesse Público'').
==History==
[[File:Algarve Luz.JPG|thumb|left|A view of the fortress from the rocky shore]]
[[File:Praia da Luz Portugal February 2015 10.jpg|thumb|left|The lateral facade of the fortress showing the two-story interior building peaking from within the courtyard]]
[[File:Castelo da Senhora da Luz 3.jpg|thumb|Lateral entranceway to the fort]]
The fort is one of the most important examples of 17th century military architecture on the Algarve coast; it illustrates the Portuguese Restoration's concern to provide defense to the southern territory.<ref name="IGESPAR">{{cite web |url=http://www.patrimoniocultural.gov.pt/pt/patrimonio/patrimonio-imovel/pesquisa-do-patrimonio/classificado-ou-em-vias-de-classificacao/geral/view/74225 |title=Castelo da Senhora da Luz |editor=IGESPAR |access-date=10 April 2017 |year=2016 |location=Lisbon, Portugal |publisher=IGESPAR-Instituto de Gestão do Património Arquitectónico e Arqueológico |language=pt}}</ref> Although there were fortifications in the region before 1640, there are few remnants.<ref name=IGESPAR/>
It is unclear when the first primitive stronghold was constructed on the site: a medieval fortress built in 1575.<ref name=IGESPAR/><ref name="SIPA">{{citation |url=http://www.monumentos.gov.pt/Site/APP_PagesUser/SIPA.aspx?id=1280 |title=Castelo da Senhora da Luz / Fortaleza de Nossa senhora da Luz (IPA.00001280/PT050807030006) |publisher=SIPA – Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitectónico |editor=SIPA |location=Lisbon, Portugal |language=pt |first=João |last=Neto |year=1991 |access-date=19 August 2017}}</ref> During the course of the construction, a circular watchtower was erected within the fortress in 1624.<ref name=IGESPAR/><ref name=SIPA/><ref>Coutinho (1997), p.135</ref>
The first fortification along Ponta da Calheta occurred during the Philippine Dynasty, and its ongoing construction is seen as an extension of Spanish policy to protect the Algarve when the great European armadas and privateers pillaged Spanish/Portuguese fleets.<ref name=IGESPAR/> The modern fort has little of these Philippine influences: it is the product of a vast process of militarization and fortification of the country, following the Portuguese Restoration of Independence (1640) and the Wars then carried out by the two peninsular kingdoms.<ref name=IGESPAR/>
Unlike the small watchtower, the post-Restoration changes saw the construction of a stronghold.<ref name=IGESPAR/> The polygonal plan, with four angular bastions defines the typical irregular quadrilateral approaching the star-shape fortresses used in numerous other fortifications.<ref name=IGESPAR/> The fact that the works lasted until (at least) 1670 is an indicator of the importance of this fortress and the care with which it was built.<ref name=IGESPAR/> Unfortunately, its current state belies the grand project of the 16th century. The walls, which were initially {{convert|5|m|ft}} high, were partially submerged by sand dunes (except to the sea). Its interior was also occupied by a two-story, eclectic building that functioned as a restaurant.
Decades of construction and remodelling in the interior have washed-away the real organization of the interior spaces that in 1821 incorporated two great pavilions.<ref name=IGESPAR/><ref>Coutinho (2001), p.113</ref>
==Architecture==
The {{convert|200|m2|ft2}} fort is situated on Ponta da Calheta in an isolated, urban area extending out to the south and west over the sea.<ref name=IGESPAR/> To the east is a roadway and to the north urban buildings, while to the northeast is the Church of Nossa Senhora da Luz.<ref name=IGESPAR/>
The polygonal castle includes bastions at its angles, with articulated volumes covered in tile and northern central doorway.<ref name=IGESPAR/>
The interior of the primitive military construction were repurposed for tourist use.<ref name=IGESPAR/>
==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist|30em}}
===Sources===
* {{citation |last=Almeida |first=João de |title=Roteiro dos monumentos militares Portugueses |volume=3 |location=Lisbon, Portugal |year=1948 |language=pt}}
* {{citation |last=Guerreiro |first=Catarina Glória |title=A história da minha terra, Nossa Senhora da Luz |location=Lagos, Portugal |year=1991 |language=pt}}
* {{citation |last=Lopes |first=João Baptista da Silva |title=Corografia (...) do reino do Algarve |location=Lisbon, Portugal |year=1841 |language=pt}}
* {{citation |last=Coutinho |first=Valdemar |title=Castelos, fortalezas e torres da região do Algarve |year=1997 |location=Faro, Portugal |language=pt}}
* {{citation |last=Coutinho |first=Valdemar |title=Dinâmica defensiva da costa do Algarve. Do período islâmico ao século XVIII |year=2001 |language=pt |location=Portimão, Portugal}}
{{Bastion forts in Portugal}}
[[Category:Properties of Public Interest in Portugal|Castle Senhora Luz]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Lagoa, Algarve]]
[[Category:Forts in Portugal]]
[[Category:Lagos, Portugal]]
[[Category:National monuments in Faro District]]