Paris1972-Versailles2003

We like castles, actually I love them. Just one reason for me to visit a city is if it has a castle,. Any shape really a castle on a hill or by a river is just wonderful. My old Havana has plenty and still in good shape as i recall. I like to tell you a bit about them. Hope you enjoy it as I recalling these memorable castles from pictures taken in my last trip of 2012.

In the first place the Castle of the Royal Forces or Castillo de la Real Fuerza was built, the oldest of all. After it was built at the same time the Castle of the Morro and the Castle of the Punta, to finally add the Fortress of San Carlos de la Cabaña. Not to leave out the more inland Castle of  Atares, and the more sinister Castle of the Prince.

After the British took Havana in 1762, besieging the castle of Morro from the hill where today stands the Fortress San Carlos de La Cabaña, the Spaniards realized that they needed to build a new fort that complemented the defenses of the city . When they recovered the villa in 1763,(treaty of Paris), the construction of the fortress began. It was the most expensive building that financed Spain outside the peninsula, being also today the largest fortress in all of America. With the triumph of the Cuban revolution in 1959, Che Guevara installed his command center in San Carlos de la Cabaña. At this time numerous deaths by firing squads were also carried out. Today the San Carlos de la Cabaña fortress functions as a historic park, along with the nearby Morro Castle. Also inside is the museum of fortifications and Weapons as well as restaurants and shops. But the most famous attraction is the cannon at 9pm or 21h, recreated by military dressed in 18C uniforms. It is reminiscent of the time when Havana was surrounded by ramparts, whose gates were closed every day at 21h.

Located at the entrance of the Bay of Havana, next to the fortress of San Carlos de la Cabaña, the Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro  or castle of the three kings of the morro, was one of the strategic points of the defense of the city during the Spanish occupation. The construction of the castle took place between the years 1589 and 1630, at the same time as the Castillo San Salvador de la Punta, an impregnable fortress up to 1762, when the English troops after a siege of about two months, managed to get the castle of the  Three kings of the Morro and therefore the city.  An irregular polygon that is formed by huge walls of 3 meters of height surrounded by a deep moat. The most emblematic point of the castle is the lighthouse of the Morro, it has illuminated the entrance of the boats to the bay from 1844. With a height of 30 meters, it is the ideal place to enjoy with the panoramic view of the Malecon of Havana, especially at dusk. Nowadays, it is part of the Morro-Cabaña military historical Park, along with the nearby fortress of San Carlos de la Cabaña, and inside it is the Maritime Museum.

Located next to the Plaza de Armas, in the heart of Old Havana, the Castillo de la Real Fuerza or castle of the Royal Forces was part of the defensive ensemble that the city had during the colonial era, next to the San Salvador de la Punta Castle and the Morro-Cabaña military historical Park.  The Royal Force Castle was the first to be built in Havana, in fact it is considered the oldest stone fortress in America. The works began in 1558 and were terminated in 1577, although it soon lost its defensive function due to its remoteness from the bay. In 1588 became the residence of the Governor of Havana, later it worked as a national archive, army barracks or National Library. Today the castle of the Royal Force houses the Museum of the Royal Force and in its impressive moat the most important maritime museum in Cuba. The most striking element of the ensemble is the tower that houses the Giraldilla, it was added in 1634. It is a woman-shaped vane that is one of the symbols of the city, besides being the oldest cast bronze sculpture in Cuba. The weather vane that can be seen today on the tower of waiting (Torre de la Espera) is a copy, the original is kept in the museum of the city.

Located at the entrance of Havana Bay, Castillo San Salvador de la Punta or St Saviour of the point castle formed along with the castle of the three Kings del Morro, the main line of defense of the city during the Spanish occupation. The construction works began in the year 1590, parallel to the works in the nearby Castillo del Morro. Because of this proximity, since 1630 when the cannon of  9pm (21h)  was sounded and the doors of the wall were closed, a heavy copper chain was stretched between the two forts to leave the access to the bay closed. In 1997 a deep renovation was carried out to install in this historic building the Castle Museum. At the moment you can see in the Castillo de la Punta a hall that tells the history of the fortress, as well as an exhibition of ships built on the island and a treasure room with objects that have been found in the marine depths.

The Castle of Atarés, military fortress that integrates the defensive system of Havana built by the Spaniards to protect the city in the 18C. The Castillo de Santo Domingo de Atarés, began construction in 1763, together with that of the fortress of the Cabañas, due to the need to complete the defense of the villa in its vulnerable points. The Castillo de Santo Domingo de Atarés was the first of these new military buildings to be completed, specifically in 1767. On the Loma de Soto  site from where the bay is partially dominated, an irregular hexagon without bastions, crowned in its vertices by the same hexagonal openings, which corresponds to the forms used for these elements during the 18C. The castle has a large vaulted bomb-proof barracks in its enclosure for all the garrison that can contain cistern, warehouses and all the offices necessary for its defense. It was fitted with 26 cannons and its garrison had about 90 men.  The castle was named in honor of Count Ricla, whose father was the Earl of Atarés. In addition, in complements this fortress has a covered road filling and a small central square, surrounded by constructions for lodging, warehouses and other services, in whose roofs were conditioned platforms to establish the artillery, as well as a perimeter trench.

The Castle of the Prince or Castillo del Príncipe is a military fort located in the Loma de Aróstegui of Havana. The fort was built during the surge of military construction in Cuba, after the end of the capture of Havana by the British that lasted almost a year, when the Spanish government realized that the city was unprotected and transformed the Key of the New World in the most fortified city in the Americas. The castle is named after Charles of Bourbon, Prince of Asturias, son and future successor of King Charles III of Spain. Construction began in 1767, not being completely finished until after 1779, The fortification resembles an irregular pentagon with two bastions, two semi-bastions and a rediente. It has large pits, mine galleries, warehouses, offices, a well and accommodation for a garrison of about 900 men. Its artillery was equipped with 60 pieces of various calibers. The heavy iron and bronze gate that closed the intramural passage in El Templete was moved to this castle. The Castillo del Príncipe, which since 1926 was used as a Prison, (and many firing squads under the Cuban revolution) was officially deactivated on June 28, 1974 In the Castillo del Príncipe in 1888, the Cuban Grand Master and World Chess Champion José Raúl Capablanca was born, the son of a Spanish army officer who lived in the Castillo del Príncipe. Still today is not open to the public.

The bay of Havana was heavily protected because after some mishaps the Spaniards learned to assembled the fleet with the gold of the Americas here, and then set sail for Spain with all the load and minimize the attack by pirates/corsairs and other powers.

The Havana tourist office on Havana: https://www.cubatravel.cu/en/Destinations/HAVANA/What-to-Do-/City

The Cuba tourist office infotur on Havana: https://infotur.cu/en/destinos/havana

There you go folks, a dandy set of castles in still beautiful Havana, Cuba. Hope it helps you one day visit or me one day revisit them.  And remember, happy travels, good health ,and many cheers!!!

Well looking back at older posts realised only briefly mentioned in previous posts, and think it deserves better in my blog. This is old nostalgia lane so old maybe some will know more updated info on it. I am one of those displaced by political reasons long ago, but my Havana always stayed with me in my heart. Let me tell you and me a bit more on the former Basilica Convent of San Francisco de Asisi in La Habana!!

The Church and Convent of San Francisco de Asís are located on the Plaza de San Francisco de Asís, in Old Havana. The church was built between 1548 and 1591, although after several structural reforms and remodeling it was completed almost two hundred years later, in 1538. Currently, the Minor Basilica of the Convent has been converted into a famous concert hall thanks to its excellent acoustics; and both the church and the convent house the Museum of Religious Art that displays various paintings, silver objects, carvings, and pieces of religious ceramics and archaeological pieces. Some of the pieces date from the end of the 17C.

The Convent of Saint Francis of Assisi is a former convent of the Friars Minor , its conventual church, called the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, had the status of a minor basilica, but is now desecrated and serves in particular as a concert hall.

The construction of the first conventual buildings began in 1574-1575, to be completed in 1591. But violent storms in 1680 and 1692 damaged the church, and a hurricane caused the church tower to collapse in 1694. It was decided to raze and rebuild. The new church was built in a very sober Baroque style, between 1719 and 1738. It was consecrated the following year with the rank of minor basilica, in connection with Saint-John of Latran in Rome, In 1762, in the midst of the Seven Years’ War in Europe, the city was taken by the British, and the church was used for Anglican worship. The Treaty of Paris signed the following year returned the island to the Spaniards, but the city’s bishop considered the church to have been desecrated, and opposed its being used again to serve Catholic worship

In 1841, the Spanish colonial government confiscated the property of the community and employed the convent as a warehouse and customs office in Havana. In 1846, the nave and the choir of the basilica were damaged by a violent tornado; they were destroyed in 1850 and replaced by a trompe-l’oeil painting. In 1907, after Cuban independence, the buildings housed the Post and Telegraph Directorate, then, in 1915-1916, the town’s telephone and telegraph exchanges and the General Directorate of Communications (which later became the Ministry of Communications). At the Cuban revolution, the convent was transformed into a museum of colonial history including an important collection of sacred art. In 1982 the church was restored but on October 4, 1994, it was inaugurated as a concert hall (chamber music and sacred music), then in 1995 a museum of sacred art opened its doors.  Transitory works by Cuban and foreign artists are displayed in the rooms and galleries of the convent, while serving as the stage for conferences, presentations and other national and international events. Among the collection of objects that the museum houses, archaeological pieces, goldsmiths and paintings from different parts of Latin America stand out. Sacred art is also strongly linked to this architectural work. Especially religious worship, the Museum of Sacred Art that houses the Convent of San Francisco de Asís, shows archaeological pieces, crafts, furniture, textiles and a precious collection of tableware with religious motifs, found in excavations from the Historic Center of the city of Havana. The church has a beautiful garden in honor of Mother Teresa of Calcutta where sculptures by contemporary artists are displayed.

The basilica has a nave with three aisles supported by twelve massive columns representing the Twelve Apostles. Without a choir since the tornado of 1846, it ends with an oblique wall decorated with a trompe-l’oeil fresco. The basilica is flanked by a 42-meter-high three-tiered tower that has long been the tallest in the city. Its facade, which overlooks Calle Oficios, bears three statues representing the Immaculate Conception, Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Dominic of Guzmán. The convent complex includes two successive cloisters. The first, adjoining the basilica, has two floors and provides access to the tower by crossing the basilica’s gallery and a terrace. The second has three flights of arcades and a central fountain.

The Cuba tourist office on Havana in English: https://www.cubatravel.cu/en/Destinations/HAVANA/What-to-Do-/City

The Habana.com webpage on the Basilica Convent San Francisco de Asisi in English: https://www.lahabana.com/guide/basilica-menor-y-convento-de-san-francisco-de-asis/

There you go folks, a dandy building to see if ever changes, but for many possible. This is part of the old beautiful history of my Havana showing its splendor of its best. Hope you enjoy the post as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!

Sometimes surprises in life do happenned, and lucky me from work  I needed to go to Havana, Cuba. A whimsical place of many years and family memories, I was born there but left too young as a boy, came back once to see my grandparents who raised me, and now back again. What a change, what a shock full of wonderful memories and honest, too good people, humble ,nice, friendly, like been back into the family again. This is La Habana  or Havana or the complete real name San Cristobal de la Habana; St Christopher the Saint in honor of Christopher Columbus and the indian taino word Habana meaning a savannah between two rivers the Cojimar (of Ernest Hemingway fame) and Almendares,(the best baseball team on the island,and my family’s team).

I did my walks and drove an American car around for a while, passing by many memorable buildings of faded memories. One that I was able to distinguished was the Lonja del Comercio now an office building located on Calle Lamparilla No.2, in Plaza de San Francisco de Asisi, in the center of Old Havana. Its construction began in 1907 and ended in 1909, on land that belonged to the wealthy Arosteguti and Armona families.

Eminently Renaissance in style and eclectic in character. Its facade shows a very varied decoration. On the dome was placed a bronze statue of Mercury 4 meters high, the Greek god of commerce, which is visible from a distance.In the original design it had only five floors for the stock exchange, warehouse, offices and other activities of the Lonja, over the years it was expanded and some transformations were made that did not involve major changes in its fundamental characteristics.  It was the first building in the city to use elevators and it was the tallest building in the colonial city; For which the first skyscraper in Cuba was known for decades. The unique dome with its skylights that are located in the upper part guarantee lighting and ventilation. Its core is a central patio that is surrounded by the floors. On the façade, the large amount of ornamentation with motifs dedicated to trade stands out. This wonderful building also highlights the Moorish influence in its interior decoration and the large central patio that acts as a hall and distributor.

At first it was destined to the offices of the Lonja de Víveres de La Habana, which later became the Lonja del Comercio, that is, the Stock Exchange and the contracting house of the city, work that it carried out until the triumph of the Cuban revolution, in 1959. In the 10,000 square meters that this building has, it has automated systems to locate intruders, detect and prevent fires, central air conditioning control, computerized communications equipment that make it an intelligent building; national and foreign companies are based.

The Cuba tourist office on Havana in English: https://www.cubatravel.cu/en/Destinations/HAVANA/What-to-Do-/City

The Habana.com webpage on the Lonja del Comercio in English: https://www.lahabana.com/guide/lonja-del-comercio/

It was indeed a flashback and nice to see again even if sad on its conditions.  There you go folks, a dandy building to see if ever changes, but for many possible. This is part of the old beautiful history of my Havana showing its splendor of its best. Hope you enjoy the post as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!