A few days before leaving St. Augustine we did a self-guided walking tour of Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. https://www.nps.gov/casa/index.htm Taken from the walking tour guide, “…construction of the Castillo de San Marcos began in 1672, making it one of the oldest standing structures in North America.” The fort was originally built by the Spanish to protect their land, was a place for townspeople to inhabit and be safe when under siege as well as a military warehouse.

 

The design uses the bastion system which is a star-like outline which is formed by diamond shaped projections, called bastions, on each corner of the fort. This design eliminates blindspots for the guards and also gives more places to put cannons which helps in fighting back the enemy.

I thought the most intriguing thing about the fort was coquina stone composition of the walls. Over 400,000 hand cut blocks were used in the construction of the fort.

The view from the top not only overlooked the harbor, but their were sentry boxes on all four sides so the soldiers could see who was coming at them at all times. The cannons were a work of art – very intricate carvings.

View

Sentry box

Cannons

This was a great tour and I would recommend it to anyone in the St. Augustine area. The last two pictures are of Curt, because I always take pictures of Curt, and me just to prove that I was really there!