Take a tour of Malacca A Famosa Ruins in Malacca, Malaysia – part of the World’s Greatest Attractions travel video series by GeoBeats. The ruins of the A Famosa fortress are an impressive piece of history, even though only the gatehouse remains. This fort, built by the Portuguese in 1511, is located in Malacca, Malaysia, once a part of the Portuguese Empire. Construction on the fort began almost immediately after the Portuguese captured Malacca, to prepare for potential resistance. A Famosa later was transferred to Dutch control and then to British, who wanted to destroy it for strategic military reasons. When pickaxes and crowbars proved to be insufficient to damage the walls, explosives were used in the demolition. Near the end of the demolition, Sir Stamford Raffles was able to preserve the last bit of A Famosa, the gatehouse.
