Fort Margherita is an old fort built in 1879 by Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak situated in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. The fort is an important landmark and monument in Sarawak’s history which goes back to the Brooke Dynasty. The fort, built in the style of an English castle, was designed to protect Kuching from attack by pirates. It served as a Police Museum from 1971 before being handed over to the Sarawak state government and now is a tourist attraction in Kuching.
The fort was built on a hill overlooking the Sarawak River and situated on the north bank opposite the then fast expanding town centre of Kuching. The fort was well-equipped to protect the capital from river-borne invasions.
The three storey tower block’s battlement includes a watchpoint on top,a courtyard surrounded by a high wall with sharp glass shards inlaid for protection and set into the wall itself are wooden windows from where the cannons were fired. Executions of prisoners were carried out in this courtyard,right up to the Japanese occupation during World War II.
