Strategically rising on the Sagres promontory to control maritime navigation on the Atlantic-Mediterranean axis, its foundation in the 15th century is associated with the figure of Infante D. Henrique.

The primitive henriquine wall had a “sawtooth” configuration and the current defensive structure was built only after the ruins caused by the 1755 earthquake.

The Fortaleza de Sagres lost its military function in the early 20th century, and suffered its first restoration interventions in the 1960s, as part of the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the death of Infante D. Henrique. In the 1990s, it was the target of another regeneration intervention.