Nice guided tour of the fortress in many languages through headphones. View of the harbor and the mountain Isabel de Torres. Was built in the 16th century to defend against pirates.
Gold lured the Spaniards to the Caribbean. Even if they rarely found it, at least ports were built where they collected their wealth. This was the case in Puerto Plata, the silver port. But since the precious metal also attracted other people, the threat to Puerto Plata from pirates and corsairs grew with the wealth. When the inhabitants of Puerto Plata finally asked the Spanish court to build a fortress, the Habsburg King Charles V issued the order to build the Fortaleza San Felipe on January 28, 1541.
The distance from the "New World" and the empty Spanish treasury alone were enough to delay the execution of his order by 23 years. It was only then, in 1564, that the architect Francisco de Ceballos began construction. However, Ceballos did not live to see its completion. Unfortunately for him, the inscription on a memorial plaque on the outer wall of the fortress names Captain Don Pedro Rengifo as the person who completed the construction in 1577.
Military Museum at Fortaleza San Felipe After the fort was used as a prison for a time - for example, the national hero Juan Pablo Duarte was imprisoned here in 1844 - the Dominicans began restoring it in the early 1960s. Today the military museum is housed here and the fortress is considered one of the best-preserved examples of colonial military architecture. However, caution is advised when visiting. At least when we visited, one of the rungs of a tower ladder was broken.
Source: Freudenthal
Translated by Google •
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