Fortaleza do Monte

Fortaleza do Monte (Portuguese for Mount Fortress, also Monte Forte; officially Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora do Monte de São Paulo, in English: Fortress of Our Lady of the Mount of St. Paul; Chinese: is the historical military centre of Macau, China. It forms part of the "Historic Centre of Macau", a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fort was built between 1617 and 1626 on the 52 meter-tall Mount Hill, located directly east of the Ruins of St. Paul's. It was constructed to protect the properties of the Jesuits in Macau, primarily from pirates. Later it was seized by the governor for the defense of Macau. It was restored in the 1990s and became a public park, where the fort's fortifications and walls can be seen alongside some ancient canons.
It occupies an area of roughly 8,000 square meters. 32 cannons were placed around the fort and the two corners of the southeast wall have watchtowers. They were crucial in successfully holding off the attempted Dutch invasion of Macau in 1622.

The fort was a restricted military area until 1965 when the barracks in the fort were rebuilt into a weather observatory, and was opened to the public. The observatory ceased its function and was relocated to Taipa in 1996, then it was demolished to make way for the Museum of Macau, which was officially opened on April 19, 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:

First residence of the Governors of Macau (1623 and 1740)
Home to of two companies of the Prince Regent Battalion to act as police force from 1810 to 1841
Weather Observatory, Meteorological Department of Portuguese Macau (1966 and 1996)
Museum of Macau (1998-)

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