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.

Castles and fortifications in Spain

User Reviews

Myra Arthur (7 months ago)
Accessible Fort with some great pieces on display.

Greur Bernal (9 months ago)
Awesome showcase of Spanish history during the "conquistador era". I even found some weapons from the Philippines that they took all the way there. Its surprising to know they preserved such items. I felt deep connection of our histories after seeing them.

duncan cresswell (12 months ago)
Secluded jem, superb views and packed with excellent museum pieces. Great value at 2€ adult entrance fee

Peter Bond (14 months ago)
A very good museum. Low fares. Interesting collection.

Huay Wang (15 months ago)
Interesting fort/castle. Lots of things to see including a underground cavern. Just 2 euro per person. Worth a visit.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Makser

Historic Site of the week

Derbent Fortress

Derbent is the southernmost city in Russia, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian steppes to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south. Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BCE. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan and Iranian kingdoms.

Derbent has archaeological structures over 5,000 years old. As a result of this geographic peculiarity, the city developed between two walls, stretching from the mountains to the sea. These fortifications were continuously employed for a millennium and a half, longer than any other extant fortress in the world.

A traditionally and historically Iranian city, the first intensive settlement in the Derbent area dates from the 8th century BC. The site was intermittently controlled by the Persian monarchs, starting from the 6th century BC. Until the 4th century AD, it was part of Caucasian Albania which was a satrap of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. In the 5th century Derbent functioned as a border fortress and the seat of Sassanid Persians. Because of its strategic position on the northern branch of the Silk Route, the fortress was contested by the Khazars in the course of the Khazar-Arab Wars. In 654, Derbent was captured by the Arabs.

The Sassanid fortress does not exist any more, as the famous Derbent fortress as it stands today was built from the 12th century onward. Derbent became a strong military outpost and harbour of the Sassanid empire. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Derbent also became an important center for spreading the Christian faith in the Caucasus.

The site continued to be of great strategic importance until the 19th century. Today the fortifications consist of two parallel defence walls and Naryn-Kala Citadel. The walls are 3.6km long, stretching from the sea up to the mountains. They were built from stone and had 73 defence towers. 9 out of the 14 original gates remain.

In Naryn-Kala Citadel most of the old buildings, including a palace and a church, are now in ruins. It also holds baths and one of the oldest mosques in the former USSR.

In 2003, UNESCO included the old part of Derbent with traditional buildings in the World Heritage List.

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