Fortress of the Immaculate Conception

Fortress of the Immaculate Conception
El Castillo de la Inmaculada Concepción
El Castillo, Río San Juan Department, Nicaragua
Color photograph of the Fortress of the Immaculate Conception in Nicaragua, taken in February 2011
Fortress of the Immaculate Conception
Fortress of the Immaculate Conception is located in Nicaragua
Fortress of the Immaculate Conception
Fortress of the Immaculate Conception
Location of the Fortress of the Immaculate Conception within Nicaragua
Coordinates11°01′09″N 84°23′47″W / 11.0192°N 84.3964°W / 11.0192; -84.3964
TypeBastion, Fortress
Site information
Controlled byNicaragua
Open to
the public
Yes
Site history
Built1673–1675
Built byMartín de Andújar Cantos
In use1675–present
MaterialsStone
Battles/warsBattle for the Río San Juan de Nicaragua (1762)
San Juan Expedition (1780)
Garrison information
Past
commanders
Lieutenant Colonel Don José de Herrera y Sotomayor (1762)[1]

The Fortress of the Immaculate Conception, (Spanish: El Castillo de la Inmaculada Concepción) is a fortification located on the southern bank of the San Juan River (Río San Juan), in the village of El Castillo in southern Nicaragua. The fortress is situated approximately 6 kilometers from the border with Costa Rica, at the Raudal del Diablo rapids of the San Juan River. It was completed in 1675 as part of a series of fortifications along the San Juan River, 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.

An important historic landmark of Nicaragua, the fortress is on a list of sites as an initial stage in achieving World Heritage Site status with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

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