It is a fortress located on the southern slopes, above the cliffs, between the fishing port in the east, and the Cave of Furninha west.

It is assumed that the origin of the place name derives from Peniche Phoenix, name of an ancient village on the island of Crete, whose geographical setting was similar to the primitive island of Peniche, which became peninsula. At its end lies the Cape Carvoeiro. The village is about eight meters above sea level, occupying nowadays one peninsular area 2,750 meters long from west to east.

At the time of independence from Portugal, the island of Peniche stood about a hundred steps from the mainland, near the mouth of the São Domingos river. The action of ocean currents and winds, over the centuries, led to the silting of that river, from the sands to form progressively a string of dunes, consolidating, joined the island to the mainland of Peniche, making disappear Port of Atouguia.

The ancient site of Ribeira d’Atouguia at the mouth of the river, was one of the most important Portuguese ports of the Middle Ages, privileged access point to the country’s central locations (Lisbon, Obidos, Torres Vedras, Santarém and Leiria), being implicadada important episodes in the history of Portugal. Being a constant target of attacks of English privateers, French and Barbary Pirates, King Manuel I of Portugal (1495-1521) instructed the Atouguia Earl of drawing up a plan for the defense of that stretch of coast, which was presented to her successor, John III of Portugal (1521-1557). Work began the construction in 1557, the so-called castle of the town, bastion structure, under the supervision of D. Luis de Ataide, completed around 1570, to the reign of King Sebastian of time (1557-1578). During the Philippine Dynasty, it was in Peniche that British troops, courtesy of Elizabeth I of England, under the command of Antonio I of Portugal, began their march on Lisbon (July 1589), in attempting to restore Portuguese sovereignty.

The fishing village was elevated to town (1609), having been made some repairs on their walls.

It is the only beach of the island suitable for bathing, accessible and sand. It is unsupervised. It has length about 40 meters.

19th century plan of theForte of the Berlengas

King Manuel of Portugal ordered the construction of a fortress on Berlenga Grande in 1502, which was immediately rectified under the reign of King Sebastian of Portugal. The fort, was constructed from the remains of a pre-existing monastery (the Monastery of the Misericórdia da Berlenga) which had previously been abandoned. Hieronymite monks had in the early 16th century, decided that the Berlengas were well situated to provide aid for seafearing people in need of shelter.The islands isolation also provided ideal conditions for the monks to live in austerity through solitude and silence, assiduous prayer and healthy penance. But, the monks became victims of frequent attacks by Algerian, Moroccan, English, and French pirates and privateers. Further, violent weather often cut-off communication to the mainland, which was especially distressing during pirate incursions, as result, the Monastery was abandoned.

It was only during the middle of 17th century that construction began, under the administration of John IV of Portugal, after the visit of João Rodrigues de Sá to the island, who, accompanied by a military engineer determined the plan to follow in its construction (in 1651). Originally during the Portuguese Restoration War, the Counsel of War had determined that a better coastal defense was needed, and had ordered the demolition of the monastery ruins to build the fort.^[2] By 1666 construction of the fort had proceed under the direction of engineer Mateus do Couto, for which the final design was creditted. That year the Fort of the Berlenga was instrumental in stopping the attack by a Spanish fleet, which was sent to kidnap Queen Maria Francisca of Savoy, on her arrival in Portugal, when she was to married to King Afonso VI of Portugal. After this attack, the King ordered the repair of the fortress, increasing the firepower of its defenses. Following its destruction by Spanish corsairs in 1666, it was finally completed in 1678 under the command of General Marquess da Fronteira (from an inscription over a gate).

During the French invasion of the peninsula, the outpost served as a base for British troops, although it was the French later who plundered it.^[3] In 1821, João VI of Portugal ordered a remodelling of the fort that included the reconstruction of the chapel, which had been burned down during the French assault.^[2][3] The fort was also used during the Liberal Wars, serving as a forward base for troops loyal to Pedro IV of Portugal, to attack the fortress of Peniche (then occupied by Miguelist forces). Fourteen years later its armaments were removed, beginning a gradual decline in the fort’s state.

In 1953, the fort was repaired and remodelled as part of an attempt to adapt the structure into an inn (Portuguese: pousada).

The DGEMN Direcção-Geral dos Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais (Directorate-General of Buildings and National Monuments) became involved after 1981 in the restoration of the structure, culminating in projects between 1986 and 1987 to consolidate the fortification and make it secure for visitors. The fortress is open to the public during the summer, with guides reserved through the Casa Abrigo.

The fort is located in the waters off the southeastern coast of Berlenga Grande, on a small islet connected to the island by a causeway/arch-bridge and anchorage to the north.

The structure is irregular octagon, longer from north to south, with a similarly irregular rectangular structure on this base covered in paved terraces, with a slight incline. The two-storey walls serve as both defense and narrow enclosed corridors that circuit its perimeter, broken by several arched windows on the northern and western facades. Meanwhile, the southern and eastern facades are broken by an irregular curtain of canon embrasures.

The structures on the exterior wall functioned as the casemates, while the central body functioned as the armory.

Human occupation on Berlenga Grande (the only habitable island) dates back to antiquity: the islands are referred to in Ptolemy’s Geography as Λονδοβρίς (Londobris).Much later it was referred to as the island of Saturno by Roman geographers, and was visited successively by Muslims, Vikings and pirates/privateers from England and France.

In 1513, with the support of Queen Leonor, monks from the Order of São Jerónimo established a settlement on the island to offer assistance to navigation and victims of frequent shipwrecks. The monastery founded there (the Monastery of the Misericórdia da Berlenga), remained until the 16th century, when disease, lack of communication (due to constant inclement weather) and regular assaults by pirates and privateers (from England and France), forced the monks to abandon their service on the island.

The historic penal colony: the Fort of São João Baptista das Berlengas

After the Portuguese Restoration War, during the reign of King John IV, the Counsel of War determined that the demolition of the monastery ruins, and the use of their rocks to build a coastal defense would help protect the coastal settlements; the Fort of São João Baptista das Berlengas was constructed from the remnants of the monastery ruins. By 1655, it had already, during its construction, resisted an assault by three Barbary coast pirates.

The island’s lighthouse (dubbed Duke of Braganza by locals) was constructed in 1841. In the 20th century a solar panel was installed in the lighthouse’s 29 metres (95 ft) column, providing a 50 kilometres (31 mi) field of vision.

Nowadays, the archipelago has no permanent population.

Berlenga Grande (Portuguese: Ilha da Berlenga) is 1500 metres per 800 metres at 85 metres high. In this small island there are beaches and several caves, its waters are very clean with barrier reefs and vibrant marine life. Part of the island was ripped off in the past, forming a separated part of the island called Ilha Velha (Old Island). In the summer, the island becomes filled with various sorts of flowers. In the larger island (Berlenga Grande) there is an ancient fort and a lighthouse. The fort is now partially converted into a resthouse. As the archipelago has been declared a reservation area due to the local fauna (sea birds, mostly), it is only visited by scientists and, in the summer, by a small number of tourists.

To the north of Berlenga Grande are uninhabitable islets, known for the existence of species of marine birds and a diverse ecosystem: the Estelas and Farilhões-Forcados Islets.

The International Coordinating Council of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB), meeting in Dresden (Germany) from 28 June to 1 July, while adding 18 new sites, included the Berlengas to the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR): in a statement on 30 June 2011, the list of classified reserves were presented.