San Antón Castle

A Coruña, Spain

One of the A Coruña's most interesting monuments, San Anton castle (Castillo de San Antón) in A Coruña was constructed during the 16th and 17th centuries. A fortress built on a small island in the bay to defend the city against attacks coming from the sea, it effectively defended the entrance to the city against the English assault led by Francis Drake in 1589. There are some lovely collections of Celtic jewellery that were found on archaeological digs in Galicia on display inside the castle today.

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 16th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Spain

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

César Orille Museums & Gyms (10 months ago)
Nice castle. At the end of the 16th century, Felipe II had San Antón Castle built on a small, rocky island, as a fortress for defending A Coruña port. As a result of successive restoration projects, it took on its current appearance at the end of the 18th century. It was also a prison until the middle of the 20th century. Since 1968 it has housed the municipal Archaeology and History Museum.
Vlad Schnakovszki (13 months ago)
Entrance is €2 per person so it would be worth it even if it were empty walls. But it's not just empty walls, it's an archeology museum with quite a few things to see and the views are really nice. If you're here, don't think about it, just go in. Recommendation to management: all the writings are in Galician and Spanish only. It would be great to have them in English as well so that us international visitors can learn about your history too.
Farzad Bhagat (14 months ago)
A short walk from the lovely cruise terminal, this castle also doubles up as an archaeological museum and houses a lot of military and other artifacts unearthed from the nearby area. The castle is a good wander and one can go to the top ramparts to enjoy a good view of the surrounding areas.
Shane Pearce (2 years ago)
Nice little place to visit, only a 10 minute walk from cruise terminal, I visited from P&O Iona which diverted from a scheduled stop elsewhere. Cost we're very reasonable at €2.00 sadly tight Brits walked by.. Was a good 1hr spent and its not something I normally visit. Only wanted ship shots but spent more time there than expected
David Belch (2 years ago)
Closed on Monday..... From the outside it looks scaleable although best soften it with a naval bombardment first. Other than that, scenic. I would post more if I'd been able to actually go in...
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Château de Foix

The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.

In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.