Castillo de la Real Fuerza

CA4
Museum / Cultural center
Architectural style: Renaissance
CA Ranking: 4
Best for: Collection of model ships within lovely restored fortress
Worst for: Limited amount of exhibits to see
Open: 9:30am-5pm Tues-Sun
Admission: CUC 2
Cuba e/ O’Reilly y Obispo, Habana Vieja
  • History & architecture
    Considered an engineering marvel, this fortress on the plaza’s northeast corner is one of the oldest European defensive structures in the Americas, and the first built to guard the city. Construction works for the Castillo de la Real Fuerza began in 1558 and were completed in 1577. Forced labor was used in its construction: the town council agreed to summon by public announcement all men ‘whether of mixed race, blacks or mulattos who had no owners to come and work in the construction of the fortress under penalty of ten pesos or one hundred lashes.’

    It has a typical four-point Renaissance ground plan manifestly influenced by those being built in Spain in the Medieval Ages. Its structure is composed of thick 10-meter-tall limestone walls with large embrasures; a drawbridge was used to separate the fortress from the defensive moat—shaped like a four-leaf clover—that surrounds the castle and ran alongside the rocks and the sea (which at the time edged up to the base of the castle; today’s Avenida del Puerto is built on later landfill). During its early years, this was the place where the Crown’s gold was deposited on transit to Spain. After it was completed, a floor was added to accommodate the Captain General, Cuba’s governor (this was their formal residence until 1762).

    In 1632, a bell tower was erected and two years later it was crowned by La Giraldilla, a weathervane in the form of a woman thought to be Doña Inés de Bobadilla, Governor of Cuba and wife of explorer Hernando de Soto. Seville in Spain had a Christianized vane, given that it was of Moorish origin, called La Giralda and it is very probable that La Giraldilla is a replica of the one in Seville, which also served to welcome incoming boats. Whatever the story behind it, La Giraldilla has come to symbolize the city of Havana and is also the emblem for Havana Club rum.

    As part of Old Havana’s historical center, the fortress was listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.

    For Visitors
    The forecourt is replete with cannons and mortars. Beyond the drawbridge, the castle today houses one of Havana’s finest museums—the Museo de Navegación (Navigation Museum). This stupendous collection includes model ships, from Roman triremes to an astounding 3-miter-long cut-away model of the Santisima Trinidad—a Spanish 130-cannon galleon built in Havana in 1769 and sunk during the Battle of Tragalgar in 1805. The museum also boasts an exceptional collection of treasure from sunken galleons.

    Opening Hours
    Mon – Wed 9am to 4pm, Thurs 9am to 12 noon, Sun

    Admission
    CUC 2 with student pass, CUC 3 for camera, CUC 10 for guide

     

    
  • Casa de la Comedia

    Casa de la Comedia  LH 3

    Tucked down a cobble-side street around the corner from the Depósito del Automóvil is the “House of Comedy.” Plays were first performed here in 1778. Today, it promotes new Cuban plays. Admission deta …

    Memorial a las Víctimas del Maine

    Memorial a las Víctimas del Maine  LH 3

    This is a memorial in front of the Hotel Nacional dedicated to the 266 people who died when the second-class pre-dreadnought armor cruiser USS Maine sank due to an explosion in Havana harbor on Februa …

    Casa Museo de África

    Casa Museo de África  LH 3

    The 17th-century townhouse mansion at Obrapia #157 originally served as a shop selling snuff. Today, as the House of Africa, it displays objects of different African cultures, especially ivory carving …

    Zanja Real

    Zanja Real  LH 3

    Mid-way along the west side of the Basílica Menor y Convento de San Francisco de Asís, Calle Brasil (Teniente Rey) leads south one block to Plaza Vieja. Exposed in the center of the cobbled street are …

    Casa Natal de José Martí

    Casa Natal de José Martí  LH 3

    This is a modest residence dating from the early 19th century whose fundamental worth stems from its being the birthplace of Cuban National Heroe José Martí. Architecturally, its interest lies in the …

    Galería Villa Manuela

    Galería Villa Manuela  LH 3

    Opened in 2004, Galería Villa Manuela was created to exhibit and promote works by members of UNEAC. This contemporary gallery hosts at least 10 exhibitions a year with works by artists of all ages and …

    Casa-Museo Simón Bolívar

    Casa-Museo Simón Bolívar  LH 3

    Housed in a former colonial mansion built from 1806 to 1817, the Casa-Museo del Libertador Simón Bolívar is dedicated to honoring the “Great Liberator” who led the Latin American nations’ independence …

    Iglesia del Santo Ángel Custodio

    Iglesia del Santo Ángel Custodio  LH 3

    Located on Loma del Angel, or Angel Hill, the church was originally built in the second half of the 17th century and expanded with two lateral naves in the mid-18th century. After having been largely …

    Habana 1791: The Perfume shop

    Habana 1791: The Perfume shop  LH 3

    Habana 1791: The perfume shop Located in an 18th-century mansion at the corner of Mercaderes and Obrapía, this beautiful shop and laboratory sells 12 varieties of scents or colognes. The bottles are m …

    Parque Rumiñahui

    Parque Rumiñahui  LH 3

    The main feature of this tiny but lovely tree-shaded park, which occupies the site of a collapsed colonial building, is a sculpture given to Fidel Castro by Ecuadorean artist Oswaldo Guayasamín (1919- …

    « 13 of 22 pages »