Walls and bastions
A polygonal plan.
The Fort of Santa Catarina is a historic stronghold on a sandy rise on the right bank of the mouth of the Paraíba River in Cabedelo, about eighteen kilometres from central João Pessoa, and a living witness to the struggle against the Dutch invaders of north-eastern Brazil in colonial times. The first fort, of rammed earth and loose sand, was built around 1585 and razed by a combined attack of French privateers and Indigenous fighters; it was rebuilt in stone and lime and completed in 1597. In December 1631 it beat off an assault by sixteen hundred Dutch soldiers, but it fell in 1634, and the Dutch rebuilt it as «Fort Margaretha», after the sister of Count John Maurice of Nassau. After they left, the Portuguese crown ordered it rebuilt in the late seventeenth century, giving it its present polygonal shape with projecting bastions and an arched gateway. The fort was listed as national heritage in 1938 and restored between 1974 and 1978 to its eighteenth-century plan. It is now run by the Fortaleza de Santa Catarina Foundation and hosts cultural events. A visit pairs well with the sunset at nearby Jacaré Beach.
A polygonal plan.
Fort Margaretha.
Water views.
At the mouth of the Paraíba River, Cabedelo, about 18 km from central João Pessoa
About eighteen kilometres from the city centre.