Castillo San Felipe de Barajas
Spanish colonial hill fortress above Cartagena, with ramparts and a network of underground tunnels.
The fortress stands on the Cerro de San Lázaro, a hill commanding the landward approaches to Cartagena de Indias. Work on the first fort began in 1657, and the position proved its worth in 1741 when a large British expedition under Edward Vernon besieged the city and was repulsed by defenders led by Blas de Lezo. The Spanish crown then ordered a far larger work, and between 1762 and 1769 the engineer Antonio de Arévalo wrapped the hill in tiered batteries that gave the castle its present stepped silhouette.
Visitors climb a series of ramps and terraces to gun platforms overlooking the bay, the old walled city and the modern district of Bocagrande. Beneath them runs a system of galleries and mined tunnels, some of which are lit and open to walk through; they were designed so that sound carried and any breach could be counter-attacked or collapsed. The castle is part of the Port, Fortresses and Group of Monuments of Cartagena, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1984, and is managed by the Escuela Taller Cartagena de Indias.
Highlights
- Tiered batteries added by the engineer Antonio de Arévalo, 1762–1769
- Underground galleries and mined tunnels open to walk through
- Views over the walled city, the bay and Bocagrande
- Part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1984
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