E-mail page
|
|
|
|
El Fortin Conde de Mirasol Review
Read our Puerto Rico sights reviews. Or post your own.
El Fortín Conde de Mirasol
Museums / Galleries, Military Sites, Architectural Sites, Vieques
Fodor's Review:
On a hilltop overlooking Isabel Segunda is El Fortín Conde de Mirasol (Count of Mirasol Fort), the last military structure begun by the Spanish in the New World. It was erected on Vieques's northern coast in 1840 at the order of Count Mirasol, then governor of Puerto Rico. It took more than a decade to complete, which meant Mirasol had to repeatedly ask for more money. (Queen Isabel, on being petitioned yet again, asked Mirasol whether the walls were made of gold.) The fort helped solidify Spanish control of the area, keeping British, French, Dutch, and Danish colonists away and dissuading pirates from attacking Isabel Segunda. After sitting empty for several decades, it was transformed into a museum in 1991. The museum has an impressive collection of artifacts from the Taíno Indians and other cultures that thrived on this and nearby islands before the arrival of the Spanish. There are also exhibits on the island's years as a sugar plantation and its occupation by the U.S. Navy.
INFO
- Address: 471 Calle Magnolia, Isabel Segunda, Vieques
- Phone: 787/741-1717
- Web site
- Cost: $2
- Open: Wed.-Sun. 10-4
WHAT'S NEARBY
- Sights
- Bahía Mosquito
- Blue Beach
- More >>
- Entertainment
- Al's Mar Azul
- Bananas
- More >>
- Shopping
- Casa Vieja Gallery
- Diva's Closet
- More >>
Visit the Travel Talk forums for help on planning your trip
- All-Inclusives: What's Included? When it comes to all-inclusive getaways, it pays to ...
- The Best of the Cruise Industry One of the most helpful features of our new book The...
- Where We're Going in '08: 7 Island Paradises For travelers, few things have quite the allure of an...
- more >>
