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The unconquerable fortress on the hill of San Lazaro

The Castillo San Felipe de Barajas is a fortress in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. It is located on the Hill of San Lazaro in a strategic location, dominating approaches to the city by land or sea.

The name of the fortress was given in honor of Philip IV of Spain.

The castle was built by the Spanish during the colonial era. Photo Credit
The castle was built by the Spanish during the colonial era. Photo Credit

Construction of the fortress begun in 1657. It was built in a triangular shape on top of the hill, with eight batteries and a garrison of 20 soldiers and four gunners.

The castle was originally known as the Castillo de San Lazaro. Photo Credit
The castle was originally known as the Castillo de San Lazaro. Photo Credit

During the War of the Grand Alliance in the 1697 raid on Cartagena, the fortress fell to the French privateer Baron de Pointis.

The fort was designed in a French military style. Photo Credit
The fort was designed in a French military style. Photo Credit

The castle defended Cartagena from numerous pirates attempting to seize some of the New World treasures destined to Spain. The fortress consists of a series of walls, wide at the base and narrow toward the parapet, forming a formidable pattern of bunkers.

The parapets and batteries protect one another so it is impossible to take a battery without taking the whole defense system.

The castle played a critical role in repelling Lord Vernon in the most famous raid made on the city in 1741.Photo Credit
The castle played a critical role in repelling Lord Vernon in the most famous raid made in the city in 1741. Photo Credit

In the 1741 Battle of Cartagena de Indias, the English Admiral Edward Vernon attacked the fortress.

He attacked with a force of 23,000 men and 186 boats but the guns of his boats could just reach the outside walls of the defense.

The castle looks like a mountain of stone. Photo Credit
The castle looks like a mountain of stone. Photo Credit

Another expansion was made to the fortress in 1762 by Antonio de Arévalo and the entire hill of San Lazaro was covered over with this enormous bastion.

It is one of the finest examples of spanish military engineering in the New World. Photo Credit
It is one of the finest examples of Spanish military engineering in the New World. Photo Credit

There is a complex system of tunnels that connected strategic points of the fortress to distribute provisions and evacuate the inmates.

It is the most formidable defensive complex of Spanish military architecture.

In 1984, UNESCO listed the castle, with the historic centre of the city of Cartagena, as a World Heritage Site. Photo Credit.,
In 1984, UNESCO listed the castle, with the historic center of the city of Cartagena, as a World Heritage Site. Photo Credit

The San Felipe de Barajas Castle, along with the old city of Cartagena, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Marija Georgievska

Marija Georgievska is one of the authors writing for The Vintage News