Fortaleza De Sagres, Sagres Point, Cape Saint Vincent, Sagres, Algarve, Portugal, Europe

The Fortaleza de Sagres, Sagres also referred to as Castle or Fort of Sagres, located in a dominant position crowning the Ponta de Sagres, in the southwest of the Algarve in Portugal. Its steep cliffs, constantly beaten by wind, the visitor enjoys a panoramic stunning along the coast, especially in the coves of Sagres, Cape St. Vincent (extreme southwest of Europe) and the immensity of the Atlantic Ocean. The fortification itself and its vicinity, integrated in the Natural Park of Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina, offer the possibility of a close look at the natural heritage of the coast, especially in regard to flora, housing some of the most representative species of the region as, eg "Allium ampeloprasum" (leek-mad), "Armeria welwitschii" (herb-divine), "Asteriscus maritimus" (pampilho-sea), "crithmum" (perrexil-fish), "Juniperus turbinata" ( Zimbreiro), "Malva sylvestris" (mauve), "Pancratium maritimum" (Narcissus-Marram Grass), "Spartium junceum" (Esparto). Bastion of polygonal layout, consists of a curtain closing the shore side and a wall that extends through on the left. At both ends of the curtain rise from half-bastions 1793, one under the invocation of Santa Barbara (patron saint of artillery) and one of St. Anthony (patron of the Portuguese Army). Halfway through the curtain opens the Monumental Gate Square in the neoclassical style, topped by a coat of arms on the pediment and epigraphic plate referring to the then governor of the Algarve, Nuno José Fulgencio John Nepomuceno de Mendonça e Moura (1793) . The internal gate side can be seen a headstone in memory of Henry the Navigator, placed around 1840. Strategically distributed by the embankment there are six batteries facing the sea and watchtowers. Isolated from other buildings, stands the Storeroom Powder probably built in the mid eighteenth century. Inserted into all buildings, it is a replica of a sixteenth-century discovery of Standard, in which can be seen a coat of arms of the Infante D. Henrique. It is noteworthy, however, Rosa-dos-Ventos, also known as rose of winds of Henry the Navigator, a comprehensive framework that considers traced back to the sixteenth century. Casually revealed in 1921, is a star with 32 spokes, symbolizing the direction inscribed in a circle drawn on the ground by irregular pebbles and some authors believe that this is the gnomon of a sundial. Several historical buildings can be seen in the embankment of the fortress, as the central turret, several quarters and buildings as the cistern tower - probably the result of Henrique's project, present in much of the fortress representations after Drake's raid in 1587 - the old houses of the "current" and the Governor's House, tour reuse of target structures in the project of the 1990s. The building of the present temple replaced, possibly in 1570, to the time of King Sebastian, the old hermitage of Santa Maria sent erected in 1459 by Prince Henry. After the 1755 earthquake, which was damaged, were added to the sacristy and the bell tower. It features simple quadrangular single nave with small windows insulated the walls and shot in barrel vault. The headboard with attached sacristy, also has square plan and is surmounted by a semi-spherical dome. The main facade is marked by the entry door with lintel and gable roof. The bell tower, built in the location of the ancient ossuary of the cemetery, is accessed through a staircase on the east side. Here it belongs, since 1997, the Baroque altarpiece of the Chapel of St. Catherine of Belixe Fort. There is no certainty about what would be the exact location of this "sacred promontory" that permeated much of history the site of the fort, but it is possible to identify, in general, an area that would extend from the tip of the Piedade Arrifana, comprising the cable St. Vincent and the Ponta de Sagres. This space, known by many as the end of the known world, where he initiated the storms to date into one of the largest areas of standing stones and megalithic buildings in Europe. Visited by navigators coming from the Mediterranean Sea from c. 4000 BC, was quoted from classical antiquity by Avieno, Strabo and Pliny as a worship area dedicated to Saturn or Hercules, strong connotation of deities with the maritime world. Later, during the Islamic occupation of the Iberian Peninsula accentuated your local character of pilgrimage, calling itself then "Chakrach" having very contributed to this legend the relics of the Christian martyr St. Vincent de Zaragoza.