The Castillo del Príncipe (Castle of the Prince) is a military fort located in the Loma de Aróstegui, in Havana, Cuba. In 1982, the fort was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, along with other historic sites in Old Havana, because of the city's importance in the European conquest of the New World, its fortifications, and its unique architecture.

History

The fort was built during the wave of military constructions in Cuba, after the end of the Capture of Havana, by the English that lasted almost a year, the Spanish government realized that the city was unprotected and transformed the "Key of the New World", into the most fortified city of the American continent. The castle owes its name to Charles of Bourbon, Prince of Asturias, son and future successor of King

Charles III of Spain Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735� ...

. The construction was in charge of the colonel of engineers the

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

se Silvestre Abarca y Aznar, the same one who built the Fortress of San Carlos de La Cabaña in the bay. The works began in 1767 and concluded in 1779, although since 1771, the place had already been fortified, while the rest of the works of the military complex were finished. The fortification had different uses, among them that of prison, a function it performed from colonial times until the Cuban Revolution, the castle became the most important in Havana. The fort continued to be a prison until the 1970s of the 20th century. Then the government transforms it into a unit of military ceremonies. It housed common and political prisoners, including

José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; 28 January 1853 – 19 May 1895) was a Cuban nationalism, nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in ...

's teacher, . Julio Antonio Mella, Eduardo Chibás, Raúl Roa, Juan Marinello and many other prominent revolutionaries were also imprisoned.

Structure

The castle has the shape of an irregular

pentagon In geometry, a pentagon () is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simple or list of self-intersecting polygons, self-intersecting. A self-intersecting ...

and has two bastions, two semi-bastions and a redan (V-shaped protrusion), and also contains deep trenches, mine galleries, warehouses, offices, a water cistern and a housing area large enough to accommodate a garrison of 1000 soldiers. It's stationed artillery consisted of 60 cannons of various calibers. It also has a system of

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

s built with red bricks that allow communication with all the outposts and most remote positions of the castle. The position of Castillo del Príncipe allowed a broad view of the city, to the remains of the old city wall, from Campus Martius. The fort overlooked Avenue Carlos III (today officially called Avenue

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his death in 1973 Chilean coup d'état, 1973. As a ...

), which led to the house of rest and recreation of the Captains General, called Quinta de los Molinos.

Prison

The fortification had various uses including as a prison that served from colonial times until the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

. After the arrival of the revolutionary forces, the fort became the home of a unit of military ceremonies. The fort was primarily used by Castro's revolutionary armed forces to hold common and political prisoners. During 1961-1962 it housed surviving members of the Bay of Pigs Invasion who were ransomed on Christmas Day 1962.

Detainees

The fortress housed detainees and prisoners including the teacher of

, Rafael María de Mendive,

Julio Antonio Mella Julio Antonio Mella McPartland (born Nicanor McPartland; 25 March 1903 – 10 January 1929) was a Cuban political activist, journalist, communist revolutionary, and one of the founders of the original Communist Party of Cuba. Mella studied law a ...

, Eduardo Chibás,

Raúl Roa García Raúl Roa García (18 April 19076 July 1982) was a Cubans, Cuban intellectual, politician and diplomat. He served as Foreign relations of Cuba, Foreign Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976. He was a lawyer and was also a university professor in the ...

Juan Marinello Juan Marinello Vidaurreta (2 November 1898 – 27 March 1977) was a Cuban Communist intellectual, writer, poet essayist, lawyer and politician. He was one of the most prominent Cuban intellectual figures of the interwar period and post revolutiona ...

, and

El Caballero de Paris EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a List of Shugo Chara! characters#El, character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (Stranger Things), Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fiction ...

Gallery

Quinta-de-Molinos-Havana.1841.jpg, Old plan of 1841 detailing the Castillo del Príncipe and Quinta de Molinos. File:Castillo_del_Príncipe_Prision_de_La_Habana._Havana,_Cuba.jpg, Castillo del Príncipe used as Prison of Havana in 1971. File: Panorama_Castillo_del_Principe.jpg, Panorama from Castillo del Príncipe. File: Pillbox_Castillo_de_Principe.jpg, Castillo del Príncipe Pillbox.

References

Bibliography

The Bay of Pigs: The Leaders' Story of Brigade 2506 (9780393331202): Johnson, Haynes: Books

External links

CASTILLO DEL PRÍNCIPE PROMO MEMORIA DE LA HABANA 38
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo del Príncipe (Havana) Fortifications of Havana Spanish colonial fortifications in Cuba Military installations established in 1779