Bombay Castle

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

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Bombay Castle, also known as Casa da Orta, is one of the oldest defensive structures in Mumbai, originally built on the site of a manor house constructed by Portuguese nobleman Garcia de Orta in the 16th century after he leased the island of Bombay.

When the British East India Company took possession of the islands in the late 17th century, they fortified the manor into a castle using local blue Kurla stone and red laterite stone from the Konkan region. The castle featured four bastions, three of which were surrounded by water, serving as strategic points for defense. It became the administrative and residential center for the British governors, with Gerald Aungier, the second governor of Bombay, residing there.

From 1716 to 1723, the British built a fortified wall around the growing city with the castle at its heart, though the walls were demolished in the 1860s as the city expanded. Today, Bombay Castle serves as the office for the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command and remains a vital part of Mumbai's maritime heritage, with remnants of the original castle walls, bastions, and a historic Portuguese-era sundial still present within the premises.