{"id":88,"date":"2023-01-29T18:44:05","date_gmt":"2023-01-29T18:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/likefloripa.com\/?p=88"},"modified":"2026-01-31T19:53:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T22:53:53","slug":"estacao-telegrafica-fortaleza-anhatomirim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.likefloripa.com.br\/en\/estacao-telegrafica-fortaleza-anhatomirim\/","title":{"rendered":"Inauguration of the telegraph station at the Santa Cruz de Anhatomirim Fortress"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Fortress of Santa Cruz de Anhatomirim<\/strong>, located at the entrance to the North Bay of Santa Catarina Island, has played a variety of roles throughout its history, from its military function in the 18th century to its pioneering role in the era of long-distance communications in Brazil with the region's first telegraph station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This unique episode happened almost 140 years ago<\/strong>, on February 17, 1888, marking a new technological phase for the island and the coast of Santa Catarina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strategic telegraph station on Santa Catarina Island<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Erected in 1739 on Anhatomirim Island, the Santa Cruz Fortress was part of the defensive system designed by Brigadier Jos\u00e9 da Silva Paes to protect the coast and the entrance to the North Bay from possible foreign attacks, especially by sea. The fortification - along with others such as the forts of S\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 da Ponta Grossa<\/strong> e St. Anthony of Ratones<\/strong> - made up an ensemble that reflected the strategic importance of the island of Santa Catarina in Brazil's colonial context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its architecture, with thick stone walls and buildings spread across the island, is a living example of the military engineering of the period and remains preserved to this day as one of the most important state heritage sites<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The February 1888 milestone<\/strong>: the Telegraph Station<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the 19th century, the Anhatomirim Fortress entered an unprecedented chapter: that of rapid remote communication. On February 17th, 1888, the first telegraph transmission between the station on the island and Desterro<\/strong> - as Florian\u00f3polis was called at the time, being the capital of the Province of Santa Catarina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This initiative was closely followed by the local press, such as the newspaper Conservative<\/em>, which recorded the official sending of telegrams to the authorities. Among them was a message to the President of the Province, Francisco Jos\u00e9 da Rocha, sent by Francisco Berendt<\/strong>, in charge of the Telegraph District, announcing the inauguration of the station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This represented a huge technological advance for the time. Telegraph communication - invented by the painter and inventor Samuel Morse in 1835<\/strong> - allowed the transmission of coded messages over electrical wires, using the Morse code<\/strong>, This is a binary system of short and long signals (pulses and pauses) associated with the letters of the alphabet and numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Inaugura\u00e7\u00e3o<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The telegraph and Morse Code: communication that changed the world<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Before the arrival of the telegraph in Brazil, communicating at a distance depended on messengers or the physical transportation of letters - processes that were slow and subject to adverse weather or logistical conditions. With telegraph technology, it became possible to transmit real-time information<\/strong>, This had great strategic value, especially for the military and government installations scattered along the coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morse Code worked with short signs (dots) and long signs (dashes) which, when combined, represented letters, numbers and symbols. The telegraph operator \u201cspelled out\u201d each message by sending sequences of signals, which were interpreted at the other end by another operator. This innovation transformed the way the state and military forces communicated with administrative centers and distant units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1915, a Ministry of the Navy report<\/a>\u00a0about the Fortress of Santa Cruz de Anhatomirim, reported<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Inaugura\u00e7\u00e3o<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Technological transition: from telegraph to radio telegraph<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With the passage of time and the development of new technologies, the Anhatomirim telegraph station evolved. At the beginning of the 20th century, in 1914<\/strong>, The Radiotelegraph station<\/strong>, A more advanced installation that used radio waves to send messages in Morse Code without the need for physical cables between sender and receiver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This transformation not only modernized the fortress's communications, but also allowed transmission to vessels at sea - a significant technological leap that expanded military and civilian communication in the region. The Radiotelegraph Station was incorporated into the fortress's infrastructure and also served as a residence for the telegrapher in charge of the operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anhatomirim today: historical heritage and living culture<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Decades later, the Fortress of Santa Cruz de Anhatomirim<\/a> has established itself not only as a symbol of colonial defenses, but also as an important site of technological and historical memory. Listed by the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Service (SPHAN\/Iphan), Anhatomirim is now one of Brazil's most historically valuable properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the 1970s, restoration, preservation and public use initiatives have been intensified, especially after the assumption of management by the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN)<\/strong> in partnership with Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC)<\/strong>. In 1979, UFSC took over guardianship of the fortress, expanding its function as a space for visitation, research and heritage education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently, in 2025<\/strong>, A new cycle of restoration has begun, with significant investment from the New European Development Bank. PAC and Iphan<\/strong>, The project will cost tens of millions of reais to conserve and upgrade the complex, expanding public access and integrating new cultural and educational spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Esta\u00e7\u00e3o<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why this story matters<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The story of Anhatomirim and its entry into the era of rapid communications illustrates how the fortifications of Santa Catarina Island were more than military constructions - they were centers of innovation and strategy that accompanied profound technological transformations in 19th century Brazil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This episode reveals the importance of preserving and valuing historical heritage as a way of understand how society has communicated, organized and connected over time<\/strong> - especially at a time when remote communication was becoming vital for the defense, government and social life of the province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Santa Cruz de Anhatomirim Fortress is much more than stone and sea. It's a place where Santa Catarina's technological history finds a human and strategic landmark - where, over a century ago, one of the most significant chapters in distance communication in Brazil was written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Article from UFSC<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Santa Cruz de Anhatomirim Fortress, located at the entrance to the North Bay of Santa Catarina Island, has played a variety of roles throughout its history, from its military function in the 18th century to its pioneering role in the era of long-distance communications in Brazil with the region's first telegraph station. This unique episode [...]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6647,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,100,103],"tags":[296,297,295,114,126,298,178],"class_list":["post-88","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-historias","category-guia","category-pontos-turisticos","tag-comunicacao","tag-comunicacoes","tag-estacao-telegrafica","tag-fortaleza-de-santa-cruz-de-anhatomirim","tag-fortalezas","tag-radiotelegrafia","tag-tecnologia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.likefloripa.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.likefloripa.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.likefloripa.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.likefloripa.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.likefloripa.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.likefloripa.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6651,"href":"https:\/\/www.likefloripa.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88\/revisions\/6651"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.likefloripa.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.likefloripa.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.likefloripa.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.likefloripa.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88"}],"curies":[{"name":"Wordpress","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}