Walking around Malacca, you may stumble upon a small dilapidated off-white building. It looks as if it has survived thanks to a miracle, and moving near it or even breathing nearby could destroy it. In fact, this is one of the most famous landmarks of Malacca, the so-called «famous» fortress. The fort is called Kota A Famosa, which means «a famous town» in Malaysian.

Today, it is a ramshackle building, but five hundred years ago, it was the country’s largest fort. The ordinary city life ran on its territory: houses were built, people occupied in trade, and austere walls guarded Malacca, which then belonged to Portugal, from the Dutch.

The fortress is bigger than it seems: there are more than 20 museums on its premises. The fort is even called the museum district of Malacca. What catches your eye first is one of several entrances. Of this fortress wall section, there has survived a tunnel that led to the fort’s territory and a curious carving above it. If you go through that cold tunnel, you will find yourself on the lawn with a couple of old cannons and some scattered stones, the remnants of the former power. However, even though there are no walls of the fortress left, you can still trace its outlines.

The A Famosa Fortress was built in 1521. Use your imagination to erect four towers connected by three-meter ramparts instead of the ruins. The watchtowers housed barracks, the office of the fortress captain, warehouses, and inside, behind mighty walls, there hid as many as five churches. In the 19th century, the British destroyed the fortress because they didn’t want to strengthen it and look after it. However, the locals managed to save one tower, the Santiago Bastion watchtower, which you can capture in your photos.

It is exciting to explore the Kota A Famosa Fortress ruins, especially knowing what this place hosted in the past, imagining how people lived here, and how the Portuguese soldiers fought to save the fort.