page_title: Castle of Senhora da Luz
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Castle of Senhora da Luz / History
caption_attribution_description: Português: Castelo da Senhora da Luz 3
context_page_description: The Castle of Senhora da Luz is a former-medieval castle/fort in the civil parish of Luz, municipality of Lagos in the Portuguese Algarve, classified as a Property of Public Interest.
context_section_description: The fort is one of the most important examples of 17th century military architecture on the Algarve coast; it illustrates the Portuguese Restoration's concern to provide defense to the southern territory. Although there were fortifications in the region before 1640, there are few remnants.
  It is unclear when the first primitive stronghold was constructed on the site: a medieval fortress built in 1575. During the course of the construction, a circular watchtower was erected within the fortress in 1624.
  The first fortification along Ponta da Calheta occurred during the Philippine Dynasty, and its ongoing construction is seen as an extension of Spanish policy to protect the Algarve when the great European armadas and privateers pillaged Spanish/Portuguese fleets. The modern fort has little of these Philippine influences: it is the product of a vast process of militarization and fortification of the country, following the Portuguese Restoration of Independence (1640) and the Wars then carried out by the two peninsular kingdoms.
  Unlike the small watchtower, the post-Restoration changes saw the construction of a stronghold. The polygonal plan, with four angular bastions defines the typical irregular quadrilateral approaching the star-shape fortresses used in numerous other fortifications. The fact that the works lasted until (at least) 1670 is an indicator of the importance of this fortress and the care with which it was built. Unfortunately, its current state belies the grand project of the 16th century. The walls, which were initially 5 metres (16 ft) high, were partially submerged by sand dunes (except to the sea). Its interior was also occupied by a two-story, eclectic building that functioned as a restaurant.
  Decades of construction and remodelling in the interior have washed-away the real organization of the interior spaces that in 1821 incorporated two great pavilions.
caption: Lateral entranceway to the fort
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "SONY", "Image Model": "DSC-H50", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2017:11:08 15:30:49", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "256", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 51, 48, 48, 0, 0, 2, 0, 2, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 3, 0, 0, 0]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Make": "SONY", "Thumbnail Model": "DSC-H50", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail DateTime": "2017:11:08 15:30:49", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "9764", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "10253", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/320", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Landscape Mode", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2017:11:08 15:30:49", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2017:11:08 15:30:49", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "23/8", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "26/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2592", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1944", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "9558", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Landscape", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal"}