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 Monte Fort, located close to the Ruins of St. Paul's, is one of the major attractions in Macau.
Built on granite foundations in 1616 with bastions at each corner, this fort, as a part of St. Paul's Church, was once used to defend St. Paul's Church against pirate. Covering an area of 21,000 square feet, the fort contained barracks, cisterns and storehouses. Four cannons were set at the four corners of the fort with very wide fields of fire, covering the inner and outer harbors and the Chinese border.
Monte Fort later fell into disrepair after the Jesuits were expelled in 1762. In 1831, the Jesuit College was turned into barracks and in 1835 a fire destroyed the fort buildings, the college as well as the church, only the stone facade of the church remained, which now is noted as Ruins of St. Paul's.
Over the following decades, with more and more tress growing from the platform of the fort, the fort became a public park, where residents and visitors came to enjoy the views. In 1998, Macau Museum was installed into the fort with exhibits illustrating the rising and falling fortunes as well the present achievement of Macau. |
