Maputo Fortress

About this place

Maputo Fortress is a square fort of reddish stone by the fishing port in the centre of Mozambique's capital, and one of the city's main historic monuments. Today it houses the Museum of Military History, run by Eduardo Mondlane University, and it stands about 450 metres in a straight line from the Central Market. A series of forts has stood on this site. Dutch settlers from Cape Town built a fortified wooden trading post here in 1721, another fort followed in 1777, and the Portuguese took the site in 1781. Around 1946 the fortress was rebuilt on the old foundations, and its inner buildings became a history museum. The remains of Ngungunhane, the last ruler of the Gaza Empire, lie here, brought back from the Azores in 1985. A single gate leads into a square courtyard lined with rooms, its inner walls painted yellow. Old cannon barrels are laid in a circle around a large agave in the courtyard, alongside wheeled guns and carts, while palms and bright flowerbeds surround the walls outside. A visit is short and fits easily into a walk around central Maputo; the fortress is about 740 metres in a straight line from the railway station. Check opening times locally and ask before taking photos inside the rooms.