Forte do Castelo de Belém, Military fortification in Belém, Brazil
Forte do Castelo de Belém is a military fortress in Belém located at the meeting point of the Guamá River and Guajará Bay. The structure features thick stone walls and defensive installations overlooking the water, with an integrated museum displaying exhibits about the region's early history.
Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco raised a wooden and straw fort, the Forte do Presépio, on 12 January 1616 at the Maúri promontory, founding the settlement of Feliz Lusitânia. Damaged in the Tupinambá uprising led by Guaimiaba, it was rebuilt in rammed earth and again in 1621 by Bento Maciel Parente, who renamed it Forte Castelo do Senhor Santo Cristo. Repaired in 1632 and 1712, it served as a hospital from 1753 and as the Cabanagem rebels' headquarters.
The Museum of Discovery inside the fort displays exhibitions about the indigenous peoples of the region and how the Portuguese established themselves here. Visitors can learn about the daily life and cultures that shaped this area before and after European arrival.
The fort stands at the tip of Mairi, where the Guamá River meets Guajará Bay, and is reached by a short bridge over the moat to the arched stone gate. The site is open-air, with cobbled paths and grassy slopes below the walls; wear sturdy shoes for the uneven stone. The fort is listed by IPHAN, so some sections may be closed for maintenance.
The fort's first chapel, dedicated to Our Lady of Grace, stood inside the fort before being moved to the present Largo da Sé, where it became the Cathedral of Our Lady of Grace in the 18th century. The 1740 plan by engineer Carlos Varjão Rolim records a guardhouse, a prison room, a warehouse and a low square.
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