La Palma Castle

The Castle of La Palma (in Galician castelo da Palma) is a defensive construction located in the municipality of Mugardos, in the region of Ferrol, province of La Coruña, (Spain). It was part of the defensive system of the Ferrol estuary established in the XVI century. It has been an Asset of Cultural Interest since 1994.

Description

The current fortification, with an irregular polygonal plan, dates back to 1597, then The plan formed an irregular quadrilateral with two bastioned fronts, whose purpose was to distribute the fire of its batteries to different points of the estuary. Located in an inlet at the narrowest entrance to the Ferrol estuary, in front of the San Felipe castle, The current building was built in different phases throughout the 19th and XX, after demolishing the original structure.

Very close, in Mugardos, was the castle of San Martín, of which only a few ruins can be seen today. Between the castle of San Martín and the castle of San Felipe a thick chain was stretched in the sea that prevented enemy ships from entering the Ferrol estuary.

Its last function was as a military prison, where, among others, the former lieutenant colonel of the Civil Guard Antonio Tejero, convicted of the attempted coup d'état in Spain in 1981, was imprisoned. In 2002, a hotel group began efforts to acquire the castle from the Spanish State, without the project having been carried out to date. Currently, the Mugardos Tourist Office organizes guided tours of the construction.