Fortim d'El-Rei

Fortim d'El-Rei/Fortim Mindelo in 2007

Fortim d'El Rei (Portuguese Fortim do Rei meaning the King's Fort), also known as Fortim do Mindelo is the fort located north of Mindelo's city center in the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde. To the west is the island's chief port. Up to the 1940s, the urban limits was southeast of the fort, as the population grew, it shifted to the northeast in the 1960s and north of the fortress in the 1970s and the 1980s.

History

The fort was built in 1852 and used as a defense of Porto Grande and the city of Mindelo. It was a garrison with artillery with seven pieces of iron which were smelted from London.[1]

It was also used as a prison for much of the time, in 1970, the fortress went under restoration.

In 2009, the fort's touristic project started at low level, according to the sources done by the country's Ministry of Economy. Fortim Mindelo was nominated and aimed to requalify the old fortress into a transformation into a touristic complex and built nexto to Mindelo Bay. The project began at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and was completely sold.[2]

See also

Notes

  1. Cabo Verde e as novas centralidades: Mindelo, em São Vicente e Praia, em Santiago, Madeira University (pdf), accessed 22 April 2012 (Portuguese)
  2. "Fortim Mindelo ganha prémio de melhor projecto" [Fort Mindelo Won an Award for Best Project]. Liberal online (in Portuguese). 14 July 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2008.

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