Big battery

The fort, also known as St. Paul's fort, central fort and the San Francisco cannon, is located on the side of the archway of St. Paul's, which is a part of St. Paul's college and St. Paul's church. Built in 1616 A.D. during the reign of emperor Shenzong of Ming Dynasty, the big fort is one of the oldest western style fort in China. Originally owned by the church, it was built for the protection of St. Paul's priests to guard against pirates, and later turned into a military facility area. In the past, the fort was high in the center of Macao, and took the responsibility of defense as a military focus.

The ancient cannons on the fort played an important role in resisting the Dutch invasion in 1622.

There was a southern European style building on the fort, which was the Barracks at first, and then the location of the weather station. In 1998, the Macao Museum was completed here. The museum has three floors. Through exhibits, it shows visitors the living conditions and historical features of different nationalities living in Macao for hundreds of years, as well as the characteristics of contemporary urban life in Macao and the prospects for the future.

Big battery

The big fort is also known as St. Paul's fort, central fort or Da Sanba fort. The fort is located on the side of the archway of the grand Sanba, which is one of the major places of interest in Macao. The fort was built in 1616 A.D. during the reign of emperor Shenzong of Ming Dynasty. It was originally owned by the church. It was built to protect the priests in St. Paul's church. It was used to guard against pirates and later turned into a military facility area. There is a large area of open space on the fort, green grass; towering ancient trees, lush growth; giant steel guns, sitting beside. There are many historical relics and historic buildings on the fort. For example, the ancient pagoda on the fort was one of the sites of the Jesuit Church. The southern European style bungalow built in the center of the open space is the office of the meteorological station.

Quick navigation

Panorama

Construction background

The big fort is also known as St. Paul's fort, central fort or Da Sanba fort. The fort is located on the side of the archway of the grand Sanba, which is one of the major places of interest in Macao. The fort was built in 1616 A.D. during the reign of emperor Shenzong of Ming Dynasty. It was originally owned by the church. It was built to protect the priests in St. Paul's church. It was used to guard against pirates and later turned into a military facility area. There is a large area of open space on the fort, green grass; towering ancient trees, lush growth; giant steel guns, sitting beside.

The fort is located on a hill 52 meters above sea level in the middle of the Macao Peninsula. The west side of the building is close to the site of St. Paul's convent. The fort was built by the Jesuits of the convent in 1617. It was not officially completed until 1626. In 1622, it successfully repelled the attack of the Dutch fleet and began to show its importance.

The big fort is the largest and oldest of all the fort in Macao. It was built in 1617 and completed in 1626. The fort, originally owned by the church, was built to protect the priests in St. Paul's church against pirates and later turned into a military facility area. There is a large area of open space on the fort, green grass, towering ancient trees.

There are huge cannons around the fort, which are ancient cultural relics and historical witness of Macao. In 1662, the Dutch attempted to invade Macao, and the cannons on Paotai mountain defended Macao and repulsed the Dutch. In April 1998, the Macao Museum was built inside the fort. The battery is equipped with a pool and a quartermaster depot, which is sufficient to cope with the siege for up to two years. In a word, this fort was the core of Macao's defense system at that time, forming a wide artillery defense network covering the East and west coasts. From 1623 to 1740, it was the residence of the city defense commander and the Australian Governor.

Architectural structure

The fort covers an area of about 10000 square meters. It is irregular quadrilateral with a side length of about 100 meters. The four corners of the fort protrude into a prism. The walls in the northeast, southwest and southeast of the fort are built on a 3.7-meter-wide granite foundation. The walls are built with rammed earth and are plastered with oyster shell powder. The walls are very solid. The height of the walls is about 9 meters and narrowed up to 2.7 meters. The parapet is about 2 meters high and has a battlement shape. Up to 32 cannons can be set up to prevent attacks from these two directions. There are also blockhouses at the two corners of the southeast wall. Chinese mainland facing the northwest wall is mainly granite, masonry wall is short and no muzzle set up, which mainly shows its defense role overseas and China's official gesture at that time. The main entrance of the fort was set on the southeast wall, and there were some simple rooms behind the entrance, which were military buildings at that time. It is now a tourist facility. Along a short curved ramp, you can reach the spacious platform of the fort. Historically, there were military facilities on and below the platform, such as the ammunition depot in the Western Fort (now the small exhibition area), and the water storage tank (now part of the Museum).

Architectural sites

There are many historical relics and historic buildings on the fort. For example, the ancient pagoda on the fort was one of the sites of the Jesuit Church. A South European bungalow built in the center of the open space.

There are huge copper cannons around the fort. Although the ancient cannons have lost their military function, they have become ancient relics and historical witness of Macao. In 1662, the Dutch tried to invade, and they were all relying on the artillery guns on the castle to defend Macao and beat the Dutch. These old fellow guns were the historical witnesses of this fierce battle.

On the right side of it is an ancient bell, which was made by a famous gun casting expert. It was moved to Portugal and was given back to Australia by the nuns' Association a few years ago. The stone carving on the front of the entrance of the fort records the battle record of this fort against foreign enemies. The fort is surrounded by beautiful scenery, overlooking the whole of Australia, but also overlooking the Pearl River Estuary and Gongbei area.

Scenery of Macao's grand Sanba memorial archway and Fort (photographed by UAV on October 21)

. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Jinjia

protective measures

Until 1965, the former barracks was converted into a weather station. In 1966, the weather station moved in and opened up as a tourist area. The fortress walls were repaired in 1992, 1993 and 1996 respectively. The relevant works are limited to those necessary to maintain their authenticity. In addition to cleaning the materials in good condition, weeds on the surface are also removed, the roots of plants are removed with herbicides, and the cracks on the wall body are repaired with the original materials. Therefore, the structure of the fort was completely preserved. Since September 1996, the government has demolished the building of the former meteorological observatory and rebuilt the original site into a Macao Museum, which was completed and opened in 1998.

Opening Hours

Daytime: 7:00-19:00

Address: peak of Shishan (Paotai mountain) in the center of Macao Peninsula

Longitude: 113.543119

Latitude: 22.196957

Tour time: 1 hour

Traffic information: public transport:

(1) Take bus No. 10, 11, 21a, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8a, 26a, 33 to Xinma Road station, and then go along the front of the conference hall and the walking path;

(2) Take bus No.17, No.18, no.8a, No.26, get off at baigechao terminus and go along shizai road; passengers can get there from the upper section of Jinghu Road (near Jinghu hospital) via artillery lane.

Ticket information: Free

Opening hours: 07:00-19:00

Chinese PinYin : Da Pao Tai