Castillo de la Fuerza Fortress

Permanent home for the Santísima Trinidad

Construction work began on this oldest bastioned fortress in the Americas in 1558 and was completed in 1582. The fortress walls are six metres thick and ten metres high forming a square with huge triangular bulwarks at each of the four corners. As you cross the drawbridge over the moat,  above the huge gateway the Royal Coat of Arms are carved in stone. For many years until 1762 the governors of Cuba made their home within this fortress, Stairs lead up through the small open courtyard to the battlements and storehouse.  There is a cylindrical tower rising from the NorthWest corner of the fortress with a conical top.  Within the tower hangs a bronze bell that was used to signal the arrival of ships to the harbour and atop the tower is the famous weathervane, La Giraldillia de la Habana, the symbol of the city. 

The Castillo de  la Real Fuerza has been linked throughout its history to the fortresses of San Salvador de la Punta  and the Tres Reyes del Morro. From the late 16th Century these three forts have been featured in the coat of arms of the city of Havana and in 1982, together with the Historical Centre of Havana, they were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.