Fortress
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Forte de São João Baptista das Berlengas
Forte de São João Baptista is a dramatic 17th-century coastal fortress constructed on a small rocky islet connected by an arching stone bridge to Berlenga Grande island, off the coast of Peniche, Portugal. Built by King John IV on the ruins of a 16th-century monastery, the fortress saw intense naval engagements against Spanish and English fleets, most notably the Siege of Berlengas in 1666. Marooned on a rugged, windswept nature reserve surrounded by crashing Atlantic waves, the fort is celebrated for its haunting isolation and frequent reports of phantom soldiers, spectral ship lights, disembodied footsteps, and eerie moans echoing through its stone corridors.