Fortaleza de São Francisco

Fortaleza de São Francisco

The São Francisco Barracks are located next to Mount Penha, east of Nam Van Lake, on the hillside opposite today's MGM Grand Macau casino. In the early years, the Portuguese built fortifications and constructed artillery batteries there. In 1622, the battery was expanded to its current scale.

The stone walls of the battery are two zhang high and over twenty zhang wide, with ten cannons mounted on them. The stone walls, built from massive granite blocks, are sturdy and upright. After centuries of multiple renovations, they have been preserved to this day.

The building behind the battery is the barracks. In 1584, Spanish missionaries established the St. Francis Monastery at the site where the São Francisco Battery now stands. Later, as part of Church reforms, the monastery was abandoned for many years. It was then converted into military barracks. After the withdrawal of Portuguese troops from Macau in the 1970s, the site was repurposed as the Security Forces headquarters, overseeing the Marine Police, Public Security Police, and—