Diu Fort The Diu Fort , is located on the west coast of India in Diu , a Union Territory , administered by the Government of India . The fort was built by the Portuguese during their colonial rule of the Diu island . The Diu town is located to the west of the fort . The fort was built in 1535 subsequent to a defense alliance forged by Bahadur Shah , the Sultan of Gujarat and the Portuguese when Humayun , the Mughal Emperor waged war to annex this territory . The fort was strengthened over the years , till 1546 . Portuguese ruled over this territory from 1537 ( from the year they took control of the fort and also the Diu town fully ) till 1961 ( for 424 years , the longest period by any colonial rule in the world ) they were forced to quit only in December 1961 ( even though India became an independent country in 1947 ) during a military action called the “ Operation Vijay ” launched by the Government of India , whereafter Diu was merged with India and became a centrally administered Union Territory ( UT ) . The importance of the Diu Fort was highlighted by an opinion poll conducted ( through the Internet and telephone when 239 , 418 people participated in Portugal ) by the Portuguese ( Portuguese government ’ s initiative ) to list out the New Seven Wonders of Portugal built during their colonial rule . The Diu fort and the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa were chosen as the two wonders from India , among the seven from across the world , out of a list of 27 monuments built in 16 countries during the Portuguese rule . This list of new monuments was declared on June 10 , 2009 on the occasion of the Portuguese National Day held in Portugal . The district administrator of Diu encouraged by this announcement said : " A major tourism attraction in India , the listing has put Diu and the fort on the world tourist map . This will certainly give a big boost to the local tourism industry . " History . Before the Portuguese built the fort at Diu in 1535 , the ancient history of the place was linked to several Kings and Dynasties ; the earliest quoted is of the Puranic period , followed by the Mauryans , the Kshatrapas from the 1st century to 415 , Guptas from 415 to 467 , by the Maitraka s from 470 to 788 , by Chavda dynasty of Gujarat and Saurashtra from 789 to 941 , by the Chalukyas ( under the Chalukya as local Chieftains ) and the last was that of the Portuguese colonial rule till Diu was taken , along with Goa and Daman , by the Government of India on 19 December 1961 . Sultan Shah Bahadur of Gujarat had occupied the Diu island in 1330 AD . Some defense fortifications were built during his rule and of earlier Muslims rulers but the same were demolished ( some remnants still exist at the eastern end of the island ) by the Portuguese when they built the new fort . But the Sultan had to seek help of the Portuguese when Mughal Emperor Humayun was getting ready to attack Gujarat and annex Sultan ' s territory . The Portuguese thus got the right opportunity , which they were seeking for long , to get a foot hold on the Diu island to build a fort for protection of their trade . In the past , in 1501 , 1521 and 1531 they had , made attempts to seize the island by force but had failed . In 1531 , Nuno da Cunha ( 1487 – March 5 , 1539 ) who was the governor of Portuguese possessions in India from 1528 to 1538 , was under orders from the King of Portugal to build a fort at Diu to strengthen its flourishing spice trade . He launched a strong military attack to annex Diu from the Sultan , with 100 vessels and 8000 men , including 3000 Portuguese . But this campaign could only achieve bombing of Diu without getting any foothold on the island . Portuguese forces could at best torment the nearby coast . They attacked again in 1532 and 1533 but without success . But an opportunity finally knocked on their door in 1535 , when the Sultan sought their help to defend against Humayun ' s forces . Taking full advantage of this situation , the Portuguese diplomatically signed a defense treaty ( Treaty of Bassein ( 1534 ) ) with the Sultan in 1535 under which they got permission to build a fort and also to position a garrison in the fort . in addition it formalized full control of the Bassein island ( the island which they had already bought from the Sultan during an earlier skirmish in 1533 and built a fort there ) . The Portuguese not only built a large fort at Diu by demolishing old fortifications that were existing on the island but continued to make it a formidable fortress by constantly strengthening it during the period from 1535 till 1546 . After the Portuguese ambition to build a fort at Diu was met , there was total mistrust between the Sultan and the Portuguese on several issues . In 1537 , in Diu harbor , the Sultan was killed in a fracas with the Portuguese . This resulted in a fight for the throne of the Sultanate of Gujarat by two claimants , but Governor Cunha ' s candidate lost . This put the Portuguese in a spot vis - a - vis the throne and they quickly repaired the damage by entering into a truce with the new Sultan , which was only a temporary reprieve . Siege of Diu ( 1538 ) . In 1538 , the Turks , who were ill disposed towards the Sultan of Gujarat and the Portuguese , mobilized a strong naval force comprising sixty six ships and 20 , 000 soldiers . Starting from Egypt in 1538 they laid siege to the fort , repeatedly assaulted and intensely bombarding it . When the fort ' s forces were about to collapse , the Turks , for unknown reasons , lifted the siege and turned back to the Red Sea . Only 40 out of 400 men in the fort ' s Portuguese garrison had survived . This ended Turkish attacks on Portuguese India . In June 1538 , the Sultan also attacked Diu , since during the previous year the Portuguese had occupied the fort as well as the city . The rulers of Gujarat ( Mahmud III , nephew of Bahadur Shah ) also tried to take control of the fort in 1545 and 1546 . However , they were repeatedly thwarted by the Portuguese under the military leadership of Dom João Mascarenhas and Dom João de Castro . After this , the Portuguese enjoyed uninterrupted control over the fort and Diu island , along with Daman and Goa . In 1670 an armed group of bandits from Muscat pillaged the fort and the town . In 1960 , there were only 350 Portuguese soldiers garrisoned in the fort . " Operation Vijay " was launched by India on December 19 , 1961 to end Portuguese colonial rule in Goa , Daman and Diu . After Diu had fallen , the Martyrs Memorial was erected close to the Collectorate office in Diu to commemorate the Indian soldiers who were killed in the capture of Diu . Geography . The fort cum castle , known in Portuguese as ' Praça de Diu ' , is set within the Diu island , on the southern tip of the coast of Gujarat at the mouth of the Gulf of Cambay ( also known as Gulf of Khambat ) . The fort and the town are delimited on the east by the state of Gujarat , on the west by the Arabian Sea , on the north by the Kolak River and on the south by Kalai river . It borders the district of Daman , the town of Valsad and Junagarh district of Gujarat . Two bridges provide the connecting links to the town and fort . The secured fort provided sea access for trade and traffic with Cambay , Broach ( now known as Bharuch ) and Surat in Gujarat . Structure . Construction of the fort was started in October and completed in March , with the Portuguese forced labour putting their full might . The fort is a large and impressive structure on the coast of the Diu island . It commands a magnificent view of the sea . It skirts the sea on three sides . The outer wall of the fort was built along the coast line . The inner wall had bastions on which guns were mounted . A double moat ( outer one is a tidal moat ) between the outer and inner walls provided security to the fort . The moat that separates the fortifications from the castle has been cut through sandstone rocks . A jetty built then on the northwestern side is still in use . The fort was provided with three entry gates . A bastion built earlier by the Sultan in the deep water channel , next to the fort walls , was further strengthened by the Portuguese . In the main entry gate , there are five large windows with stone galleries on the main front wall . From the fort , a glittering view of the Panikotha fort located in the sea , off the coast opposite to Diu Fort , could be seen in the evenings . There are several cannons ( some of them made of bronze appear well preserved ) still seen at the top of the Diu fort . Also seen are collection of iron shells scattered around in the fort area . The fort is approached from a permanent bridge . The entrance gateway to the fort has an inscription in Portuguese . The bastion at the gate is named St . George . A large light house is also located at one end of the fort . Even now the ruins of the walls , gateways , arches , ramps , bastions of the fort provide an impressive view of the extent of military defenses that the fort provided in the past . Within the fort , well laid out gardens have paths bordered by old cannons . Other monuments in the fort . There are three main churches located within the fort . These are the St . Paul ’ s Church , the Church of St . Francis of Assisi and the St . Thomas Church . St . Paul ’ s Church in the fort , consecrated to Our Lady of Immaculate Conception , was built between 1601 and 1610 . It is built in Gothic style and has an impressive patio . It has a fine baroque frontage and has rich wood paneling . It was refurbished in 1807 . The Church of St . Francis of Assisi , built in 1593 , is the first of the three churches built in Diu . Located on the hilltop overlooking a plateau , the layout plan of the church replicates similar churches built in Europe . The entrance to the church is through a long flight of steps on the eastern and the northern directions . It now functions as a hospital . St . Thomas Church is located on a high ground in the market area of the fort . It has Baroque facade with faded paintings from the Portuguese period . It is a whitewashed structure , which is a not functional church now . But the church , which has since been renovated , houses a museum where , apart from a local collection of artifacts , stone sculptures ( such as of Christ and Virgin Mary collected from churches in the vicinity ) , wood carvings ( said to be made out of more than 400 years old petrified wood ) , and shadow clocks are also displayed ( see images in gallery ) . The church is well lighted in the evenings and approached through a garden with a series of fountains . Mass is held here , once a year , on 1 November . Venetian Gothic style old bungalows and typical carved wooden or stone havelis ( mansions ) , which belonged to affluent Portuguese and Indian merchants are seen in the Makata bylanes , near the Zapata gate of the fort . There is also a Shiva temple , called Gangeshwar Mahadev , near the cliffs , which is much venerated . This temple is said to have been constructed by the 5 Pandava brothers and hence the 5 shivlings that are of different sizes . The shivling are the remains of what was earlier a cave temple built at the bottom of the cliff and entrance being sea facing . Over the centuries , the cliff has deteriorated and hence the cave has widen up , where the sea waves directly hit the walls of the shiv ling . The shivling get submerged during high tides . Visitor information . The fort is easily accessible from the mainland from the village of Ghoghla in the east . or from Veraval or Somnath in the west . It is well connected by roads with rest of the country . There are no railway lines within Diu but the nearest railway station is on the metre gauge line at Delvada from the fort . Diu Airport provides regular air link to Mumbai . It is located north west of Mumbai by road . Diu is approachable from Una , which is from the Gujarat border . The road distances to other places in Gujarat are : to Sasangir and to Bhavnagar .