St. John Fort is located at the south of Melaka which is located on top of St. John Hill or pronounce as San Joan by the local Portuguese. This old fort was built by the Dutch in the 18th century for defense purposes. This old fort is one of the heritage buildings that have been gazetted under the World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

But did you know that both the hill and old fort derived their name after a small private Catholic chapel built on this site by the Portuguese? The chapel was dedicated to St. John the Baptist in the 15th century. During the Portuguese colonial period, they had to fight off attacks from the former Sultan of Melaka, Sultan Mahmud Syah, then from the Johoreans, and finally the Acehnese who destroyed the chapel in 1628.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

The fort was built with laterite stone and bricks. There is only one entrance and the walls are about 10-12 feet high with cannon emplacements facing both inland and seawards. Some of the original bronze cannons are still found in a well-preserved condition inside the fort.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

The best part is, there is a saying that there was a hole at the old St. John Fort which is related to Melaka’s mysterious secret underground tunnel that connects this fort to St. Paul Hill. The truth about it still remains a mystery. 

Operation Hour : Open 24 hours.

Contact Number : 06-2883599.

Address : St. John Fort, Jalan Ujong Pasir, 75000 Melaka.