Description of the attraction
Fort Santa Cruz is one of three fortresses in Oran, the second largest port city in Algeria. In the western part of the port and in the city center are two other citadels, Fort de la Man and Saint Philip. The three fortresses are connected by tunnels.
Fort Santa Cruz was built between 1577 and 1604 by the Spanish at an altitude of over 400 meters, and in 1831 Oran and the fort were occupied by the French. A small chapel known as the Church of Santa Cruz is located next to the fortress. This Catholic chapel has been restored with a tower and a huge statue of the Virgin Mary, a replica of the structure at Notre Dame de la Garde in Marseille. From above, there is a breathtaking view of Mers el Kebir, the strategic military port of Oran.
The first fortress was founded by the Turks, and after the Spanish defeated them in the sixteenth century, Fort Santa Cruz came under their control for 300 years, until 1792. Then the governors of the city of Oran were located in the citadel.
The Spanish authorities fortified the city and fortress, making Santa Cruz the most powerful and tallest of the three citadels of Oran, dominating a Muslim city with Moorish architecture.
The fortifications of the fortress consist of thick continuous walls over two and a half kilometers in circumference. In between, there are strong towers with a central castle - the Kasbah, where the headquarters of the leadership was located. The building materials were metal, wood, sand, lime and water. They were transported to the hill by difficult routes with the help of ropes. The fortifications were expanded many times, the defensive structures were improved. There are underground passages between all the forts, galleries passing under the city with exits in different parts of the hill. To provide drinking water, a rainwater collection and storage system with a reservoir with a capacity of 300 thousand liters was provided.
The Chapel of Santa Cruz was built by the Bishop of Orange in memory of the miraculous deliverance of the city from the cholera epidemic in 1847. It is currently a place of pilgrimage.
Tourist excursions are held on the territory of the fort, whose architecture has been preserved very well.
