FORT DE SANTA CRUZ

Today (since 2004) it houses an elegant pousada, so you can't visit it unless you are a guest! Its location is exceptional and made it a strategic point of defense against sea attacks. From the outside, you will unfortunately not see much of this beautiful building in the city of Horta, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site. The history of this fort is eloquent: built in 1567 in the shape of a pentagon to defend itself from Moorish pirates, the Spaniards occupied it in 1583 after they took possession of the archipelago. In this terrible battle, 400 Frenchmen joined the meager Portuguese troops, who finally had to surrender. Sir Walter Raleigh attacked it fourteen years later, without the consent of his commander, the Earl of Essex; legend has it that the two men almost fought a duel on the beach. After the departure of the Spaniards in 1640, the fort began to slowly decline due to lack of funds. Finally, the last confrontation involving the fort of Santa Cruz, the forces loyal to the liberal king Dom Pedro IV landed at night in Faial in November 1825, while the absolutists of Dom Miguel had taken over the island; after having taken the fort, they were dislodged in the early morning and were taken prisoner. This feat of arms, recalled by the king in 1833 when the Constitutionalists finally overthrew the usurper, is a clear indication of the historical importance of the fort. The entrance gate was rebuilt in 1847.