Forte Principe da Beira

Coordinates: 12°25′40″S 64°25′22″W / 12.42778°S 64.42278°W / -12.42778; -64.42278

view of the outer wall

Principe da Beira (Forte Principe de Rivera) is a settlement on the lower part of the Guaporé River close to its confluence with the Mamoré River in the Brazilian state of Rondônia.

The settlement is particularly known for the fort of the same name just next to it. The fort was built from 1776 to 1783 and is one of only two forts that the Portuguese Empire built in the inner regions of Brazil. The Portuguese built it to secure their border against the expanding Spanish Empire, which controlled the areas to the southwest of Rondônia. The military use of the fort was abandoned in 1889.

The fort has an outer wall with a height of 10 m and a length of 1 km. It has four bastions, which originally carried 14 cannons each. Only one of those cannons still remains today. Inside the wall there are ruins of a chapel, soldier quarters, a prison and various utility buildings.

References

Regis St. Louis, Andrew Draffen: Brazil. Lonely Planet 2005, ISBN 1741040213, p. 666

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Forte Príncipe da Beira.

Fotos do Real Forte Principe da Beira - photos of the fort and museum

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