Castillo de San Sebastian - Cadiz
The castle is connected to the seafront promenade with a walkway called Paseo Fernando Quinones that ensures the castle is accessible at high tide. The castle is located on an island off-shore from the mainland city. This island has been the subject of continuous settlements since ancient times.
According to tradition, here was the temple of Kronos. Kronos was the Greek god of the Titans and father of Zeus. Muslim watchtower was later constructed, and in the fifteenth century this was the site of a small chapel dedicated to San Sebastián. In 1457 a Venetian ship took refuge on the island due to a plague epidemic, the sailors rebuilt the tower and built a chapel dedicated to San Sebastián. The arms of the city of Venice were carved here in recognition of Cádiz hospitality.
Following the Anglo-Dutch sacking of the city in 1596 the rebuilding of the castle’s tower was undertaken in 1613 under the direction of Juan de la Fuente Hurtado. It was equipping it with modern artillery and in turn served as a lighthouse.
In 1706 work began on the current castle, on the part of the island that faced the city. In 1860 the castle was reinforced with casemated batteries. During the nineteenth century a long boardwalk was built by which the castle was attached to the city on the mainland.
The modern castle incorporates two bastioned open spaces, both gated and linked by a bridge. The first (reached from the promenade) the original castle, is irregular in plan, somewhat elongated, and with nine sides. It has parapets, two water filled moats and drawbridges. The second is larger and on the northwest front of the first, which connected with the part of the island where the chapel and tower-lighthouse are located. The second island is called Avanzada de Isabel II. The current lighthouse was built in 1908.
The castle complex was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest on April 22, 1949.
The castle is connected to the seafront promenade next to La Caleta beach by a walkway called Paseo Fernando Quinones. Fernando Quiñones Chozas (born Chiclana de la Frontera, 2 March 1930 - 17 November 1998) was a prize-winning writer of literature and poetry. His statue is located at the beginning of the walkway.
The walkway starts at Plaza Canal de Ponce. This area was named after Francisco Ponce Cordones, historian (born Rota 1920 - 2017). In the 1970 he discovered a navigable channel that divided the city into two islands in ancient times. There is an informative tile plaque on the wall here that describes the discovery of the canal. See this annotation of the canal on a modern satellite image of Cadiz. At low tide the canal can be seen bisecting La Caleta beach.
Opening Times:
Monday-Sunday, 11:00-17:00 hrs
Admission
Free Entrance
Contact
Tel: 956 24 10 01
Location
Located on Located on Paseo Fernando Quiñones.
