Forte da Graça - Elvas, Portalegre, Portugal
N 38° 53.622 W 007° 09.870
29S E 659182 N 4306581
In the 18th century the Fort of Graça was constructed in response to the development of longer-range artillery, as well as four fortlets to the west.
Waymark Code: WMJX7R
Location: Portalegre, Portugal
Date Posted: 01/10/2014
Views: 14
Garrison Border Town of Elvas and its Fortifications.
Fort of Graça (construction: 1763 – beginning of the 19th century).
Guarding the key border crossing between Portugal’s capital Lisbon and Spain’s capital Madrid, in an undulating, riverine landscape, the Garrison Town of Elvas was fortified extensively from the 17th to the 19th centuries to become the largest bulwarked dry ditch system in the world, with outlying forts built on surrounding hills to accommodate the changing needs of defensive warfare.
Elvas is an outstanding example of a garrison town and its dry-ditched bulwarked defence system, which developed in response to disruptions in the balance of power within 17th century Europe. Elvas can thus be seen as representing the universal aspirations of European nation States in the 16th-17th centuries for autonomy and land.
All elements necessary to express the Outstanding Universal Value of the property are included within the property boundary. A number of buildings are unoccupied and are closed up against squatters and vandalism, and are subject to encroachment by vegetation. In particular the Fort of Graça, being relatively isolated and unused is vulnerable to vandalism. Views of the fortifications from a distance and between each other are vulnerable to new development and the visual integrity of the property needs to be protected by a slightly enlarged buffer zone with adequate controls.
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