National Museum of Resistance and Freedom – Peniche Fortress

The Peniche Fortress, one of the main political prisons during the dictatorship in Portugal, now hosts the National Museum of Resistance and Freedom. Through careful adaptation and civic engagement, the site fully engages visitors with the values of liberty and democracy.

The Peniche Fortress, whose construction began in the 16th century to defend the Portuguese coast, later served as the country’s most notorious political prison during Europe’s longest-lasting dictatorship (1926-1974). After the Revolution of 25 April 1974, the site gradually fell into disrepair. By the early 2010s, many buildings were severely degraded and nearly abandoned. In 2016, a public outcry over a proposed hotel conversion sparked a civic movement that successfully pushed for the site’s preservation as a place of collective memory.

The result is the National Museum of Resistance and Freedom, inaugurated on 27 April 2024 to mark the 50th anniversary of Portugal’s Carnation Revolution and the release of political prisoners. The project, led by architect João Barros Matos, was co-funded by the Portuguese state and the European Union through the Portugal 2020 programme. From 2019 to 2024, the fortress was carefully conserved, restructured, and adapted to its new role. The project embraces the site’s layered identity, recognising its ‘fortress time’, ‘prison time’ and ‘museum time’ as integral to its historical significance.

Archaeological and geotechnical surveys informed structural reinforcements and conservation strategies, while former political prisoners contributed to the content development. A new museological path connects previously isolated courtyards and buildings, centred around the cistern courtyard, which has been reactivated as a freely accessible public space. The moat and surrounding rock formations were restored to underline the symbolic isolation of the site. The interior was repaired or remade using traditional materials and techniques, including lime plaster, marmorite coatings, and semi-industrial tiles.

The intervention respected the authenticity of the prison architecture while ensuring full accessibility for all visitors. Original prison cells and furnishings were retained to convey the lived experience of confinement. At the same time, new functions – including a café, bookshop, and education spaces – have integrated the museum into the civic and cultural life of the coastal town of Peniche. The museum has quickly become the city’s main cultural hub, drawing close to 150,000 visitors in its first twelve months – more than twelve times the local population. School groups and younger audiences are particularly prominent, highlighting the site’s educational potential.

Dedicated to the memory of those who resisted the authoritarian regime, the museum addresses wider European themes of human rights, democratic values, and the fight against authoritarianism. It offers a reference point for similar institutions across Europe and contributes to a growing international network of memory sites.

“Community engagement played a decisive role in preserving and transforming this former political prison into a national museum of deep symbolic value, following a civic campaign that prevented commercial development,” the Awards’ Jury highlighted.

“The restoration of the Fortress of Peniche respected the architectural integrity of both the fortification and the prison, while introducing new museum elements with sensitivity and restraint,” the Jury noted.

Contact: João Barros Matos | Atelier AR4, Arquitectura | joaobmatos@gmail.com