Fort San Carlos: A Coastal Defence Fort in Palma, Mallorca
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.7
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Spain
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Crown of Aragon, Spanish
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Fort
On this page7 sections
History
Fort San Carlos is a coastal fortification in Palma, Mallorca, Spain, built in the early seventeenth century to defend the Portopí roadstead and protect the port and city from pirate and corsair attacks. Its guns worked with those of the Cap del Moll tower at the foot of Palma’s seaward wall, forming part of the port’s defensive system.
Construction and expansion
The fort was proposed in 1600 and ordered by Felipe III, king of Spain, in 1608. Construction began in 1610 and ended in 1612, with the monarchy and the College of Merchants, a mercantile institution, sharing the cost. It was first known as Portopí Castle and was later dedicated to Saint Charles in honor of the viceroy Carlos Coloma.
Between 1662 and 1663, the original rectangular core was enlarged and enclosed within a wider defensive circuit. Further works were added on the seaward side during the War of the Spanish Succession, a conflict over the Spanish crown.
Coastal defence and military use
A coastal battery was established at the fort in 1890. A separate coastal fort was also built on the shoreline to operate in cross-fire with the battery at Illetas. The West Dike began beside the fort during the nineteenth century and was completed in 1938.
During the 1936 uprising against the Spanish Republic, political prisoners were confined in the San Carlos and Bellver fortifications. Fort San Carlos subsequently served as an artillery barracks and military prison until 1980. After that date, its military role was reduced to firing ceremonial salutes to national and foreign warships.
Museum conversion and protection
Rehabilitation for museum use began in 1981. The collections brought together material from the recently closed artillery park, the Army Museum, military units in the Balearic Islands, and private donors. The San Carlos Castle Museum opened on 26 September 1991. Two more galleries were added in 1994, when the entrance and lighting were also improved.
In 1997, the San Carlos Castle Consortium was created to manage the museum, with the participation of Spain’s Ministry of Defence, the Government of the Balearic Islands, the Island Council of Palma, and Palma City Council. The fort has been protected as a Spanish cultural-interest monument since 1988. It now stands within the Portopí naval base and houses Palma’s Military Historical Museum.
Remains
Fort San Carlos has an irregular polygonal plan created by the expansion of a square bastioned tower with a rectangular core. Its defensive circuit includes four large projecting bastions, whose positions allowed defenders to fire along the faces of the surrounding walls. The fort retains a low profile and is in good condition.
Earlier tower and fortification
The eastern corner incorporates the Torre de Senyals de Portopí, an earlier watchtower thought to have been erected in the thirteenth century. Period paintings and engravings identify the tower before the present fort was built. Incorporated into the later structure, it retained its role as a beacon or lighthouse. The enlarged fort surrounds its earlier rectangular core with the later bastioned circuit, giving the complex its star-like appearance.
Museum collections
The museum’s collections concentrate mainly on military material from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including a section devoted to the Mallorcan general Valeriano Weyler. Earlier artillery is represented by a notable group of spherical stone shot associated with the artillery companies of the Kingdom of Mallorca. The shot came from Palma’s artillery Almudí, a military facility that included workshops and production areas. The fort is illuminated at night, while its low profile limits its visual prominence.
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