El Castillo | |
|---|---|
Comarca and village | |
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:El_Castillo-01.jpg) | |
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Nicaragua_location_map.svg)  El Castillo | |
| Coordinates: 11°01′04″N 84°24′04″W / 11.01778°N 84.40111°W | |
| Country |  Nicaragua |
| Department | Río San Juan Department |
| Municipality | El Castillo |
| Elevation | 33 m (108 ft) |
El Castillo is a village of about 1,500 people situated on the southern bank of the Río San Juan (San Juan River) in southern Nicaragua. It is one of 27 comarcas of the municipality of El Castillo, a subdivision of the Río San Juan Department.[1] The village is situated approximately 6 kilometers from the border with Costa Rica, at the Raudal del Diablo rapids of the San Juan River. The site on which the village of El Castillo is built was initially established in 1673 as a Spanish fortification to defend against pirate attacks upon the city of Granada (which can be reached by navigating upstream from the Caribbean Sea along the San Juan River into Lake Nicaragua). The settlement of El Castillo and its fortress continued to be strategically important to the Captaincy General of Guatemala until the late 18th century.
- ^ Nicaraguan Institute of Municipal Development (2011). "El Castillo: Ficha municipal" (PDF) (in Spanish). Managua: Instituto Nicaragüense de Fomento Municipal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2011-04-23.