Castillo morro: San Juan National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)

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Castles.nl — El Morro Castle

Last visit

2009

Location

Address: La Habana del Este, Havana, Cuba.

El Morro Castle

El Morro Castle, locally known as Castillo del Morro but officially called Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro, is situated on a rocky promontory at the entrance of the bay of the city of Havana on Cuba. It is not to be confused with the El Morro Castle in Santiago de Cuba.

Construction work on El Morro Castle started in 1590, during the government of Juan de Tejeda, and finished in 1630, during the government of Lorenzo de Cabrera. It was built by the Italian military engineer Giovanni Battista Antonelli, who also built La Punta Castle, on the opposite shore of the bay entrance, about the same time.

El Morro Castle was linked with La Punta Castle, via an iron chain during times of uncertainty. In the case of an attack, this chain was tightened up and enemy ships were prevented from entering the bay. The ground plan of the fort has the shape of an irregular polygon as it is adapted to the shape of the rocks it was built on. It is composed of 3 bastions linked by curtain walls and casemented barracks. It also houses cisterns, a chapel, officers quarters, a wine cellar, stables, dungeons and vaults. Due to the fort’s commanding view over the sea and the city at the entrance of Havana Bay it also served as a watch post to scout for incoming enemy ships.

In January 1762, the British, aware that Spain had made a pact with France to attack them, declared war and planned to seize Cuba. So, in June that year, a British squadron under Admiral Sir George Pocock arrived. They landed at Cojímar Cove and advanced to the city. The hills of La Cabaña were taken without any difficulty and from there began the siege of the fort supported by attacks from the sea. On July 30, they managed to breach the fortress’ walls, after the northeast bastion was mined, and took it.

Later in the 18th century Cuba was returned to Spain. The Spanish then built San Carlos de La Cabaña Castle on the hills east of the fort to prevent a successful siege like in 1762. Up until that new fort was built El Morro Castle was the strongest defense of Havana.

On the harbor side of the fort, built directly next to it, lies the Battery of the 12 Apostles, a crescent shaped fortification equipped with 12 large cannons.

The lighthouse at the northwestern end was built during the 19th century.

In the 20th century El Morro Castle was also used as a prison. During my visit I was told that Che Guevara also had held gatherings in the fort but I could not find any reliable source for that assumption.

At present El Morro Castle is used as a museum and can be visited for a small fee. The modern building on top of the castle is used by the Port Authority.

A great fort on a fantastic location offering beautiful views over the city.

Gallery

Details: Hits: 29223

Last visit

2009

Location

Address: La Habana del Este, Havana, Cuba.

Last visit

2009

Location

Address: La Habana del Este, Havana, Cuba.

El Morro Castle

On the harbor side of the fort, built directly next to it, lies the Battery of the 12 Apostles, a crescent shaped fortification equipped with 12 large cannons.

The lighthouse at the northwestern end was built during the 19th century.

At present El Morro Castle is used as a museum and can be visited for a small fee. The modern building on top of the castle is used by the Port Authority.

A great fort on a fantastic location offering beautiful views over the city.

Gallery

Details: Hits: 29223

Last visit

2009

Location

Address: La Habana del Este, Havana, Cuba.

Morro Castle | castle, Havana, Cuba

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…these is Morro Castle (Castillo del Morro), completed in 1640. It became the centre of the network of forts protecting Havana, and, with La Punta Fortress (Castillo de la Punta), dominated the actual entrance to the harbour. The oldest fortification, La Fuerza (Castillo de la Fuerza), was begun in…

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Lighthouse Castillo del Morro — frwiki.wiki

Castillo del Morro Lighthouse (Spanish: Faro de Castillo del Morro ) is an active lighthouse located at Fort El Morro in La Old Havana in Havana, Cuba.

Summary

1 story
2 Description
3 See also
- 3.1 Notes and references
- 3.2 Related link
- 3.3 External links

History

The first marine signal station was built in 1764. In 1818 it was replaced by a cylindrical stone tower.

The current lighthouse was built in 1845 on the ramparts of the castle Los Tres Reyes del Morro, built in 1589, to protect the entrance to the port of Havana. This familiar emblem of the port of Havana is the symbol of the city and by far Cuba’s most famous lighthouse; it is lit up at night. The fort is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

It is located east of the very narrow entrance to the port of Havana. The fort and lighthouse are open daily.

Description

The lighthouse is a cylindrical tower of unpainted stone with a gallery and a lighthouse height 25 meters . It emits at a focal height of 44 m two white flashes in a period of 15 seconds. Its range is 26 nautical miles (approximately 48 km).

ID : ARLHS : CUB-009; CU-0… — Admiralty: J4857 — NGA: 110-12580.
( see list of authors ) .

External links

(in) Lighthouses of Eastern Cuba
(in) Lighthouses of Western Cuba
(in) Cuba — World List of Lights ARLHS (WLOL)
(in) Cuba — Internet List of Lights
(en) Castillo Morro — Lightphotos. net

Fortress of San Pedro de la Roca — Castillo del Morro

Today we look at the pirates of the Caribbean in the movies, we follow with interest their incredible sea adventures and raids on port towns, presented by Hollywood directors with a special charm and romanticism, and we can’t even imagine how terrible a disaster the invasion of pirates really was.

Let Jack Sparrow remain the same positive character for us, but since 1633 in Cuba, on the impregnable rocks at the narrow entrance to the bay of Santiago, brick by brick, the majestic fortress of El Morro (the second name is San Pedro) began to be built de la Roca), the purpose of which was to protect the city from robbery pirate raids.

Until 1645, the military engineer Giovanni Battista Antonelli supervised the construction. The fortress was built according to all the canons of fortification art and has been well preserved to this day, and many still argue that it is here that the most beautiful and picturesque place on the entire island opens up.

The walls amaze with their great power, and the incredible beauty of the scenery of the coastline of Santiago further enhances the impression.

Fort San Pedro stands at a height of 60 meters on an impregnable promontory 10 kilometers southwest of Santiago. The project of the fortress was created in 1587 and assumed measures to protect the city from pirates (far from cinematic), who in the mid-1500s almost completely plundered the immediate surroundings and the population living there.

However, faced with a lack of money for construction, the construction of the fort was started only in 1633 and continued for 60 years.

Pirates, of course, were not going to wait for the completion of work, and during another break in construction, the famous English pirate Henry Morgan again ruined Santiago. A little later, the English filibusters, already led by Christopher Mings, captured the city for two weeks, seized the fort’s guns, and also destroyed part of the newly built fortifications.

After they were repelled, the Spanish government allocated funds to complete the construction and increased the garrison by 300 people. New defensive structures on the flanks and an artillery platform were added.

The fortress was completed in 1700 and its powerful walls and bastions began to serve their intended purpose, by the way, very successfully: for example, in 1678 the fortress withstood an attack by a French squadron, and in 1680 an attack by 800 pirates of Francesma, one of the commanders of the Antilles filibusters. The fortress repulsed the last attack during the Spanish-American War in 1898 year.

The fort was exhausted by frequent earthquakes, but every time the damaged parts of the buildings were rebuilt.

El Morro’s shield didn’t last long, however, as the era of sea invaders had ended by then. In the 19th century, prisons for political prisoners, known as «The Rock» (la Roca) and «The Star» (la Estrella), were created in the fortress, and they existed until the 1960s.

The new project of the fortress included the restoration of El Morro and its further transformation into a monument of history and architecture. So, to this day, four levels with terraces, three sheltering shafts for artillery, a large warehouse for supplies — right in the rock, once brought by sea and land to the upper level of the fortress, have remained in the fortress to this day.

A deep well has also been preserved here, from where it was always possible to take fresh water in case of a long siege of the bastions by pirates.

San Pedro de la Roca has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. Today there is the Museum of the History of Piracy, and right next to the walls there is a restaurant of national cuisine where you can have a bite while enjoying a magnificent view of the coast. In the evenings, guardsmen shoot cannons — this is a very popular entertainment among tourists.

San Pedro de la Roca in Cuba is a must-see destination. You can get there by bus 202 to Ciudamar, which departs from Avenida de los Libertadores.