Over the border to visit Elvas, a Portuguese border town dominated by military history

A visit to Elvas to explore the fort of Santa Luzia and wandering through the historical streets of the town.

 
Elvas is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It holds the title of the most heavily fortified city in Europe with the largest system of bulwarked dry ditches in the world. Located strategically near the Spanish border, its architecture reflects a fascinating mix of visigoth,medieval, Jewish and Moorish with the unique defensive forts and walls from 17th- to 19th-century.  

We've been visiting Elvas for many years, it has not changed much within the original walls having escaped mass tourism. It's in a time warp, like going back to 70s or 80s, a bit slow, no shopping malls,no souvenir shops selling plastic crap. The cafés and restaurants have been there for years and still sell specialities of Elvas like quejadas and green sugar plums.

It is somewhat austere dominated by the military forts and infrastructures and the extraordinary aqueduct. The moody minimalistic vibe recalls its garrison town history, still mainly within the original defensive walls with some more frivolous and picturesque architecture financed by the wealth gained from the very fertile and varied agricultural land surrounding the town.
When approaching Elvas from Extremadura, take the first indication to Elvas East. A series of roundabouts will lead to the turn off for the fort on the left. It will be visible from quite a distance built on a small prominence 11 kms from the border. Approaching the entrance to the fort there are many complex outer defensive structures. 

As one enters the main gate crossing a moat and drawbridge the inner buildings of the fort are painted a strong ochre yellow. 

There are many and various outer buidings ; barracks, stables, a chapel and at the centre the  Governor's house with it's distinctive cupola and spartan interior with a narrow stairway made with stones protruding from the walls as access to the look out of the cupula. Other structures are the secret underground passageways connected to the heart of Elvas allowing provisions and personnel to move freely without exposure to the enemy forces. 

There are vast areas for troop assembly and general movement to the different areas of the fort.

Built as a five sided star shape to maximise observation and fire power this fort and many others in Portugal are often attributed to the master of military siege structures, Sébastien Le Preste Marqis de Vaubon but this is erroneous. In fact the fort was based on much earlier Italian architecture which was perfected in the 16th century as a solution to the invention of artillery fire. Vaubon studied these innovative early designs, improving and perfecting the plans and thus all star shaped fortifications are often attributed to him.

The history of Santa Luiza fort was enmeshed in the complex relationship between Spain and Portugal, creating alliances through royal marriages and inevitably political conflicts. It is a complex period of history but important to understand as it was the reason the Portuguese built so many forts to guard their border with Spain after suffering 60 years of Spanish Habsburg rule due to a melodramatic series of succession dramas which led to the Spanish king Felipe II inheriting the Portuguese crown through his mother Isabel of Portugal. A traumatic disaster for Portuguese pride and autonomy. It is worth knowing some background to grasp the reason for the extraordinary military architecture of Elvas.
The drama started to unfold with the ill fated King, Don
Sebastião of Portugal (January 20, 1554 – August 4, 1578).

The grandson of Joao III, he became heir to the throne in 1557 due to the death of his father, Crown Prince João Manuel, two weeks before his birth. This period had seen continued Portuguese colonial expansion in Africa, Asia and Brazil, until a dramatic and unlikely succession of plague, bad harvest years, economical depression and the unexpected deaths of all ten of Joao III's children suddenly threatened the continued existence of Portugal as an independent nation. By the time of Joao III's death Sebastiao was the heir apparent and became king at 3 years old. The young king was educated by the Jesuits and almost immediately after coming of age, obsessed with Christian zeal, he was determined to rid Morocco of Islam and make it a Christian country under Portuguese rule, he began plans for the re- conquest of territories lost by Joao III in Morocco.

In 1578 the Portuguese fleet departed from Lisbon and sailed to Asilah,already a Portuguese possession, there they met up with their ally the deposed Moroccan sultan Abu Abdallah Mohammed II along with mercenaries from various parts of Christendom. They launched a disastrous attack on the Saadian forces concluding in the battle of Alcácer Quibir also known as "Battle of Three Kings" , a total rout where Don Sebastião and most of the young noblemen of the court were lost but his body was never recovered.This was the beginning of a long lasting legend, the inspiration for Portuguese writers and artists such as Luis Camoes and Fernando Pessoa. As Don Sebastião had no progeny a distant great uncle, Cardinal Henrique, inherited the crown, shortly afterwards he died thus leaving the Portuguese crown with no direct successors. In fact the closest by blood was Felipe II of Spain through his mother Isabel de Portugal who married the illustrious Carlos V and only produced one son Felipe. Thus began 60 years of Spanish rule in Portugal, that's another story but finally in 1640 a palace coup in December 1640 restored the Portuguese monarchy under King John IV (the Duke of Bragança), ending sixty years of Spanish Habsburg rule. During this period, Spain sought to isolate Portugal militarily and diplomatically, while Portugal tried to find resources to maintain its independence through political alliances and maintaining its colonial income .The conflict finally ended in 1668 when Spain officially recognized Portugal's independence.
The timing of the Portuguese revolt was strategic, as Spain was already stretched thin fighting in the Thirty Years' War and dealing with the Catalan Revolt, which made it difficult for Spain to mount a full reconquest of Portugal. Very shortly after the end of conflicts the Portugues, still very distrustful of Spanish intentions, began a intensive programme of building forts along the border including Santa Luzia. Construction began in 1641 with an initial sketch by governor-of-arms Matias de Albuquerque for a fort capable of housing 300 soldiers. That same year, it was redesigned by Sebastião Frias as a star fort and then re-designed again by Flemish architect Cosmander with the support of French engineer Jean Gilot . The first stone was laid on April 1, 1643, and the fort was completed in 1648

The first notable event was a heroic resistance during the siege led by Spanish commander Don Luis de Haro from October 22, 1658 to January 14, 1659 This siege preceded the Battle of the Lines of Elvas on January 14, 1659 where the fort, along with other fortifications, successfully resisted the heavy Spanish siege.

In 1706, Spanish and French troops attacked Elvas as part of the War of the Spanish Succession but failed to take the city In 1712, the fort resisted a siege by the Marquis of Bay, whose siege engines were battered by the fort's artillery. In 1801, during the War of Oranges, Spanish minister Godoy demanded the city's capitulation but failed to attack.
Peninsular War:
The city's command surrendered to the Spanish during the Peninsular War, and the fort was occupied by forces of General Francisco Solano, captain-general of the army of Andalusia. Then occupied by by French troops, who subsequently abandoned the city as part of the Convention of Sintra .

The fort served as a prison during the Portuguese Civil War (1828-1834)

It is now a military museum open every day except Monday 10.00 - 16.00 There is a small dusty museum located in former barracks. Some exhibits from the 18th and 19th centuries, nothing notable but the uniform  pieces are interesting, especially the helmets.I can only imagine the one with the red plume was for running up and down the secret passageways to clean the cobwebs.