Castro fortress built

1665 CE.

Shown on the map at 42.232°, -8.727°.

The Fortress of O Castro is a fortification located in Vigo, Spain built in 1665 by the Spanish Empire in the province of Pontevedra during the Portuguese Restoration War to defend the region from potential attacks by English forces. Built on a hill of the same name, the defensive system of Vigo consisted of the fortresses of O Castro and San Sebastián along with the city wall. The city wall had an irregular shape due to the orography of the city, and was constructed by two Spanish Army officers: Colonel Fernando de Gourannanbergue and Maestre de campo Diego Arias Taboada to link the two fortresses together. Despite this effort to provide security to the city, documents from that time say that this defensive system was ineffective as it could not impede landings further along the coast. During the War of the Spanish Succession, the fortress saw action during the Battle of Vigo Bay on 23–24 October 1702, when a combined English Royal Navy and Dutch States Navy fleet attacked elements of the French and Spanish navies, defeating them.

Text from the Wikipedia article Castro fortress, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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