 |
Address:East shore of the Havana bay’s entrance
Construction date:1589-1630 Restoration:Reconstruction: 1763-1767 Silvestre Abarca and Agustín Crame Restoration: Jose Capelo, 1992 |
Current use:
This castle is a maritime lighthouse and symbol of the city. It features a great strategic and military importance due to its location.
The construction started at the same time than that of La Punta Castle and finished 30 days after the aforementioned. It was considered the main defense of the Havana port until the fortress of La Cabaña was finished in 1774.
The plan is a polygon with an organic adaptation to the rocky elevation where it was built, according to the irregularity of the lot in all its extension.
Two strongholds Tejeda and Austria towards the land side and a half stronghold projected over the other side of the elevation facing the sea. Besides, it has a deep moat and two gun batteries known as Los Doce Apostoles (The twelve Apostles)and La Estrella (The Star.
When the English attacked and captured Havana in the year 1762, the castle was damaged and later as soon as Spain took power again it was rebuilt and modernized.
The interior spaces own a dynamic system of interconnection among its different elements finished by access and communication ways adapted for that purpose.
The lighthouse built in 1844 with a more modern system replaced the one that was at the same place since 1764.
