Historic Meia Praia fort is “completely rundown”, Lagos mayor Hugo Pereira laments
The historic fort of Meia Praia is “completely rundown” and its owner – the Portuguese State – does not seem to care about renovating it.
The accusation was made by Lagos mayor Hugo Pereira, who has warned that the centuries-old building is at risk of being lost.
“It is an attack on the Algarve’s historic and cultural heritage,” Pereira told Lusa news agency.
The fort was built in 1674 to defend the Lagos Bay before being partially destroyed by Portugal’s major 1755 earthquake, having been recovered in 1766 but decommissioned in the early 1800s. It was eventually turned into a base for Portugal’s Guarda Fiscal until the 1950s.
Although classified as a monument of public interest in 2015, it has been left abandoned, slowly crumbling under the salty sea air.
For years, the municipal council has tried to negotiate with the state to restore the fort and turn it into a space for the community. But each time they reach out, they are redirected to the REVIVE program – a government scheme that hands heritage sites over to private investors for tourism projects.
Pereira believes it is unfair that local councils are being asked to pay for renovations of State-owned buildings.
“Whenever the state wants something from us, we’re expected to help for free. But when we need something, they want money,” he lamented.
Either way, the mayor wants to find a solution to the fort’s predicament. “The state of the fort is not dignified for anyone,” he says.
The Lagos Municipal Assembly has also demanded that the fortress be transferred to the local council’s control – but the government has refused. In a last-ditch effort, local leaders launched a public petition last year calling for an urgent revamp of the fort which gathered just 610 signatures – far below the 7,500 needed to force Parliament to debate the issue.
