The Fortaleza do Monte ( Portuguese for ''Mount Fortress'', also ''Monte Forte''; officially ''Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora do Monte de São Paulo'', in ; ;

Cantonese Yale The Yale romanization of Cantonese was developed by Yale scholar Gerard P. Kok for his and Parker Po-fei Huang's textbook ''Speak Cantonese'' initially circulated in looseleaf form in 1952 but later published in 1958. Unlike the Yale romanizat ...

: ''daaih paau yìh'') is a fort in

Santo António Santo António (Portuguese for Saint Anthony), also known as Santo António do Príncipe, is the main settlement of the island of Príncipe in São Tomé and Príncipe. It lies on the north east coast. It is the capital of the Autonomous Region ...

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

. It is the historical military centre of Macau. The fort forms part of the "

Historic Centre of Macau The Historic Centre of Macao (, ) is a collection of over twenty locations that witness the unique assimilation and co-existence of Chinese and Portuguese cultures in Macau, a former Portuguese colony. It represents the architectural legacies of ...

" and is a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. The fort was built between 1617 and 1626 on the 52-metre tall Mount Hill, located directly east of the

Ruins of Saint Paul's The Ruins of Saint Paul's (; ) are the remnants of a 17th-century Catholic religious complex in Santo António, Macau. They include what was originally St. Paul's College and the Church of St. Paul (''Igreja de São Paulo''), also known as " M ...

. It was constructed to protect the properties of the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

(mainly Portuguese Jesuits) in Macau, especially from pirates. Later, the fort was taken over by Francisco Mascarenhas, the first

governor of Macau The governor of Macau (; ) was a Portugal, Portuguese colonial official who headed the Portuguese Empire, colony of Portuguese Macau, Macau, before 1623 called captain-major (). The post was replaced on 20 December 1999 upon the handover of M ...

, as the governor's residence. The fort occupies an area of roughly 8,000 square metres. Thirty-two muzzle-loading cannon were placed around the fort's walls, and the two corners of the southeastern fort wall have small watchtowers. The fort proved crucial in successfully holding off the attempted Dutch invasion of Macau in 1622. The fort remained a restricted military area until 1965 when the barracks in the fort were converted into a weather observatory and the fort was opened to the public. The observatory ceased its function and was relocated to

Taipa Taipa ( zh, t=氹仔, ; , ) is an area in Macau, connected to Coloane through the area known as Cotai, which is largely built from reclaimed land. Located on the northern half of the island, Taipa's population is mostly suburban. Administrativ ...

in 1996 before it was demolished to make way for the Museum of Macau, which was officially opened on 19 April 1998. The tree-covered park at the top of the fort has a panoramic view of the mainland area of Macau. Apart from being a fortress, it has served various functions: * The first residence of the governors of Macau (from 1623 to 1749). * The base for two companies of the Portuguese Prince Regent Battalion to act as a police force from 1810 to 1841. * A weather observatory of the Meteorological Department of Portuguese Macau (from 1966 to 1996). * The Museum of Macau (1998 to present).

Gallery

Image:Reflecting pool by the main building of Fortaleza do Monte, Macau - 20080114.jpg, A reflecting pool by the main fortress building (the site of the Museum of Macau). Image:Cannons line the fortress walls.jpg, Replica cannon from 1860 line the walls of the fortress. Image:Monte Fonte.JPG, The garden of the current Fortaleza do Monte.

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Mount Fortress
��Macau World Heritage website by the Cultural Affairs Bureau {{WikidataCoord, Q838085, type:landmark_region:MO, display=title 1626 establishments in China 1626 establishments in the Portuguese Empire 17th-century establishments in Macau Buildings and structures completed in 1626 Chinese architectural history Classified immovable properties Forts in Macau Historic Centre of Macau Landmarks in Macau Portuguese colonial architecture in China Portuguese forts Portuguese Macau Urban public parks in Macau

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