A'famosa
A Famosa (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐ faˈmɔzɐ]) was a Portuguese fortress built in Malacca, Malaysia, around 1512. It featured a five-storey keep that gave the fortress its name. After the Dutch captured Malacca in 1641, they destroyed the keep but expanded the outer walls. In 1811, the British demolished most of the fortress, leaving only the Porta de Santiago gateway and the rebuilt Middelburg Bastion.
In 1511, Portuguese commander Afonso de Albuquerque defeated the Malacca Sultanate and built the fortress to establish Malacca as a key port. The fortress, constructed using slave labor and materials from destroyed local structures, originally had long ramparts and four main towers, including a 60-meter-tall keep.
The Dutch took over in 1641, renovating the gate in 1670 and adding their logo. In the late 18th century, the Dutch handed Malacca to the British to prevent its capture by Napoleon's France. The British ordered the fort's destruction in 1806, but Sir Stamford Raffles intervened in 1807 to save the Porta de Santiago and other structures.
Location: Banda Hilir (± 4 km from Grand Swiss-Belhotel Melaka or approximately 9 minutes driving)