Country
Angola
City / Region
Luanda
Construction Date
First fortification (wattle and daub) 1576. Current configuration 17th century, with 18th-century reforms/expansions (1764-1772).
Conservation status
Classified as a National Monument (Portugal, 1938) and by Provincial Ordinance (1938). Reopened as the National Museum of Military History in 2013. Use as a museum suggests good conservation status and active maintenance.
Latitude and Longitude
8°48'29.7"S 13°13'24.5"E
Main characteristics
Irregular polygonal plan (bastioned and tenailles). 2 half-bastions, 5 tenailles. Ramparts with parapet, cylindrical sentry boxes. Low battery and cavalier. Casemated warehouses, vaulted cistern. Monumental gate (coat of arms of Portugal). Interior with revivalist tiles (20th century) with historical scenes. Unique African fortification where cannons were locally cast. Former chapel (Saint Michael), powder magazine. Courtyard with military vehicles, artillery, T-6 aircraft, Flag, statues.
Source(s)
ALMEIDA, João; NOÉ, Paula. Fortaleza de São Miguel. Sistema de Informação para o Património Arquitetónico (SIPA), DGPC, 2014. Disponível em: http://www.monumentos.gov.pt/Site/APP_PagesUser/SIPA.aspx?id=24783. Acesso em: 21 abr. 2025.
NEW HOLLAND FOUNDATION. Dutch Colonial Fortifications in West & Central Africa ca. 1600 - ca. 1684. New Holland Foundation, set. 2021. Disponível em: https://www.newhollandfoundation.nl/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Dutch-Colonial-Fortifications-in-West-Central-Africa-ca.-1600-ca.-1684.pdf. Acesso em: 21 abr. 2025.
PESSOA, Belisa de Fátima da Silva. Memória e Identidade: Um estudo sobre a Fortaleza de São Miguel em Luanda. Tese de Doutoramento, ISCTE-IUL, 2016. Disponível em: https://repositorio.iscte-iul.pt/handle/10071/12486. Acesso em: 21 abr. 2025.