An effective protection against enemies: Beautiful St. Philip castle, by Jonathan Varela Fernández.

     The castle of San Felipe is one of the military fortresses in the estuary of Ferrol, a town located in
the province of La Coruña, autonomous region of Galicia, Spain.

 In the photograph on the right, Erasmus + international students on a trip by boat to the castle.

     The construction of the castle began in 1589 and was partly redesigned between 1731-1775, by the military engineer Francisco Montaigu.

     The most remarkable features in this castle are the following: the regular geometry of the building, despite of the difficult orography, the “hornabeque” (sort of a double bastion)  and the arrow shape of  its two floors that allowed a double gunfire line to the ocean. 

                                

     Around the same time, two other castles were built on the opposite side: Nuestra Señora de La Palma and the Castle of San Martín (both of them in ruins nowadays).

      In their heyday the three castles, situated in strategic points along the estuary, were capable of protecting the military installations from attacks by land and sea, forming a deadly and unassailable triangle of gunfire. Their position also made it possible to run a chain between the castles of San Felipe and La Palma, to prevent the entrance of enemy vessels.

     The beginnings of this castle date back to the XVI Century, as I previously explained, but I forgot something that makes this castle special, its History:

    The History of this castle begins with its construction, being part of a supplying net for the Spanish Royal Army. The French and British tried to take the Castle, because of its strategic location. The most famous battle they fought was the “Battle of Brion” in 1800, when The English troops came ashore on the beaches of Doniños and San Jorge with the intention of destroying the Navy's arsenal, but were repelled by successive attacks and retreated to the Heights of Brión, where the Spanish victory was completed.Local inhabitants commemorate the battle every year, with a re-enactment of the fight between the English troops and the town of Brión.

                

         

More recently, the Council of Ferrol bought this military complex for a total amount of  one million euro to be used with touristic purposes. So, now, you can visit the place and enjoy the magnificient sightseeing from its walls. You can even have a look at it from the sea, in a programmed route on a boat from the port of Ferrol (as in the photograph at the beginning of the article).

     All of this is very interesting in my opinion, but I think that it would be fantastic providing the castle with the chance of offering some sort of recreation, like the changing of the guard for instance…something that could bring more visitors and add more interest to the visit.

     At the moment, as ABC newspaper mentioned on an article about the castle last 25th August 2015, http://www.abc.es/local-galicia/20150825/abci-castillo-ferrol-sanfelipe-201508251147.html, some parts of it are closed to the public beacuse there is risk of collapse. The local government isn't planning to start the reconstruction of the damaged parts immediately because of lack of funds but they've promised to begin as soon as they get funds.

     At the moment, Ferrol has applied to be included as a Worl Heritage Site by the UNESCO, under the name Ferrol at the Enlightenment period. The whole project includes many different spots in the area surrounding Ferrol with a hisg standard of historical relevance, as for example, the coastal fortresses, the military arsenal, the civil arsenal, the estuary and its entrance and the town. For more information visit: http://www.ferrol.es/patrimoniomundial/

Fonts of the photogrphas:
https://joseranal.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/ferrol-castillo-s-felipe-final-email.jpg (drawing of the
castle)
http://estaticos04.elmundo.es/elmundo/imagenes/2011/02/07/galicia/1297100112_0.jpg (aerial photograph)

http://www.abc.es/Media/201508/25/castillo-ferrol-sanfelipe--644x362.jpg (photo at night)

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7QA29KG5slX8IMLopRD4OpycX_9BUZdqpmwLYHHNjuUX05oy6bj-ZS0tRviQ8xFCa_oz_W5aHi3TyTnUG44e-u62TL0HssJqH3TtuR3_X8XC1YmqY-p0O6NfTBuznVnfpes4IC70lKmy5/s1600/DSC_0082.JPG (British soldiers)

http://www.elcorreogallego.es/servicios/galeriagrafica/4879/grandes/77278.jpg (Battle of Brion, people marching)