| Fort of Olheiros | |
|---|---|
| Lisbon District, NearTorres Vedras in Portugal | |
 Fort of Olheiros | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Fort/Redoubt |
| Open to the public | Yes |
| Location | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 39°06′12″N9°16′13″W / 39.10333°N 9.27028°W /39.10333; -9.27028 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1809-10 |
| Built by | Duke of Wellington |
| Fate | Preserved and restored |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 180 |
TheFort of Olheiros (also known as the Fort of Canudo) was a small fort in the town and municipality ofTorres Vedras, in theLisbon District ofPortugal. Situated at 105 metres above sea level, it was the most northerly of all the forts and other military facilities built in 1809-10 under the orders of theDuke of Wellington during thePeninsular War, and commonly known as theLines of Torres Vedras.[1]
152 forts, redoubts and other defences, forming three lines of defence, were constructed over 80 kilometres, reinforcing the natural obstacles that the land offered and making maximum use of the existing topography. All sites were given numbers and the Fort of Olheiros was No. 23. Incorporating a windmill that was already on the site, it is situated a few hundred metres to the northwest of the much largerFort of São Vicente, which is considered to have been the most important of the forts constructed for the Lines. Olheiros fort is an irregular polygon of seven sides, around 45 metres long by 19 metres wide. It has a pronounced stone-lined dry moat, with access having originally been over a drawbridge. There were eleven gun emplacements and a store for the munitions. In addition to covering the River Sizandro valley, as support to three forts in the Varatojo mountains and the Fort of Grillo, it was also designed to defend the western side of the Fort of São Vicente. It is believed that the fort’s garrison would have totalled 180 soldiers.[1][2][3][4]
The fort, like most of the other fortifications of the Lines of Torres Vedras, was disarmed and abandoned in 1818, three years after theCongress of Vienna brought peace to Europe. Some restoration was carried out in 1957, with support from theCalouste Gulbenkian Foundation. In 2011, the fort was restored at a cost of around €350,000, paid for with aEuropean Economic Area grant. It can easily be visited in association with a visit to the Fort of São Vicente, which also houses a Lines of Torres Vedras Interpretation Centre.[4][5]
Media related toForte ou Reduto de Olheiros at Wikimedia Commons