This relic is one of the important vestiges from the times of the Portuguese and their domination on the coastal areas and islands of the Persian Gulf. The Fort of Our Lady of the Conception (Portuguese Castle) is located in north of this island. This structure was constructed in the year 1507 AD. on the orders of Alfonso de Albequrque the renounced Portuguese navigator.
The same was constructed in a vicinity known as Murna. It is an irregularly shaped and multi-sided construction, with walls to the thickness of 3.5 m and towers reaching an elevation of 12 m.
For visitors to a medieval sea fort on Hormuz Island it is not hard to vividly imagine the hustle and bustle of Portuguese military forces who once occupied the southern Iranian island in the early 16th and early 17th centuries.
The red stone fortress was then named as the “Fort of Our Lady of Conception”, or more simply the Portuguese Castle today. Made from reddish stones on a rocky promontory at the north end of the island, the castle was cut off from the rest of the island by a moat, traces of which still remain.
The castle involves arms depot, water reservoir, barrack, prison, church, command centre and central hall.