Among Europe’s best-preserved examples of military architecture are the fortifications surrounding Elvas, with heavy, star-shaped walls. UNESCO has designated Elvas as a World Heritage Site for its mid-17th-century defenses, located on a hilltop in the Alentejo, 15 kilometers from the border with Spain.
A 16th-century engineering project, Elva’s aqueduct was built in response to the town’s growing population and water need. But the works were finished in 1622, almost a century later.
It’s a long drive east (and should be combined with a visit to the nearby Spanish city of Badajoz), but those who make an effort will be rewarded with a genuinely imposing circuit of walls, deep moats, and star-shaped ramparts. Within this impregnable ring is a maze of steep, cobbled streets and a number of worthwhile visitor attractions, most notably the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Consolaço, whose unassuming exterior conceals a truly gilded interior.
The other star-shaped fort of Elvas is Santa Luzia Fort. It is situated on the other side of Graça Fort, south of Elvas. Although it is smaller, it was constructed 150 years ago. The site of Elvas’s Garrison Border Town and its fortifications, which consists of the two forts, the walls, the castle, and several lesser forts, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A castle on the north wall provides excellent views of the area and includes two smaller outlying forts as well as the Aqueduto da Amoreira, the town’s impressive 16th-century aqueduct.