São João Baptista Fort

The São João Baptista Fort is situated in the wonderful Berlenga Island. The small Berlengas archipelago, situated at about 10km distance of Peniche, is constituted by the Berlenga Grande Island and the adjacent reefs, the Estelas and the Farrilhões-Forcados, classified as a Natural Reserve since 1981.

The São João Baptista Fort construction was ordered in 1651 due to its strategic location. It is said that in this island existed a Monastery since 1513 that assisted the sailors and the many shipwrecked victims due to this coast violence. The monastery would have been successively attacked by pirats, which led to its abandonment.

Already in the 19th century the Fort is abandoned, serving as support for the fishing activities in the region. On the 20th century, the Fort was transformed into a hotel unity, that was also abandoned after the troubled times of the 25th April revolution in 1974.
Nowadays the São João Baptista Fort works as a “shelter-house”, a kind of Bed and Breakfast, and is one of the accommodation places of the archipelago, offering twelve main rooms and eight on the walls, as well as a convenience shop and a restaurant.