Matachin Fort, Baracoa. Cuba

• ( 7 reviews)
• Calle Marti esq. a Juracion. Baracoa
• Daily
• (5321) 42122
• Destination: Baracoa

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Built on Esteban Point, whence it takes its name, for the people of Baracoa (without knowing why) began at the beginning of the c.19 to call it Matachin. When in 1807 the ship of an English pirate called Winchester arrived at the Ensenada del Miel, the Baracoan counter-attack was so decisive that some pirates fled and others were taken prisoner, evidence of the strength of Baracoa’s arsenal.
Matachín Fort

In 1868 it became a guard post of the Spanish army for the recognition and registry of all those entering and departing from the city. The people protested at the arbitrariness of this measure which was repealed in 1887 but subsequently reinstated in 1895. After the installation of the pseudo-Republic, it was used firstly as a bastion against the pirates and later was used by the Spanish as a prison. Later it was used as a shelter by a group of desperate families which gathered there in search of refuge. So numerous were the misfortunes that rained down upon them that a sinister name was given to their temporary home: "The Castle of the Damned’.

On 10th October 1981 the Matachín Fort Municipal Museum was inaugurated. This contains a brief account of Baracoa’s history from the time of the Indians and includes the most significant twentieth century facts and events concerning the region.

Matachin Fort Map

Matachin Fort is located in Baracoa

Baracoa, located in the easternmost part of Cuba, has become one of the top tourist attractions in Guantanamo Province. Baracoa's verdant mountains and the many rivers and streams which come rushing down to the sea here form an enticing natural setting to which historic and cultural elements contribute their own attractions.

Coconut and cacao plantations are plentiful near Baracoa, but it has some unique attractions, too. For example, there's the Parra Cross, which Christopher Columbus brought to shore here in 1492-one of the 29 he left in Spanish America.

Alejandro de Humboldt National Park (in the Cuchillas del Toa Preserve of the Biosphere); Alemanes Pass, the Yumuri River Valley, Boma and Mata Bays and the view from the natural terraces in La Maquina Municipality offer you scenery that will make your vacation truly memorable.

Review about Colonial Fortress: Matachin Fort