Castillo de Santa Catalina and San Sebastian

Cadiz has two castles right next to one another Castillo de Santa Catalina which is open to walk around and has a small museum about the history of cadiz. It’s free to enter ( my favourite entry price). The castle is the oldest military construction in Cádiz city. Construction started in April 1598, led by architect and military engineer, Cristóbal de Rojas. The city's defences needed to be improved after the Anglo-Dutch navy, under the command of the 2nd Earl of Essex, had looted the city two years earlier.

In 1769 Carlos III repurposed the castle as a military prison and it was used to hold Conscientious objectors, including 300 Jehovah's Witness who refused to undertake Spanish military national service. The castle continued to be a military prison until shortly before the Ministry of Defence handed the castle over to the city in 1991.

Then a little down the beach is Castillo de San Sebastiá which is on a tiny island connected by a tidal walkway called Paseo Fernando Quinones that ensures the castle is accessible at high tide.

The island has been the subject of continuous settlements since ancient times. According to tradition it was the home of the temple of Kronos, who was the Greek god of the Titans and father of Zeus. A Muslim watchtower was later constructed, and in the fifteenth century it became home to a small chapel dedicated to San Sebastián. In 1457 a Venetian ship took refuge on the island due to a plague epidemic and the sailors rebuilt the tower and a chapel dedicated to San Sebastián.

Following the Anglo-Dutch sacking of the city in 1596 the castle was rebuilt in 1613 under the direction of Juan de la Fuente Hurtado. It was modernised with modern artillery a lighthouse.

It was only during the nineteenth century a long boardwalk was built by which the castle was attached to the city on the mainland. The current lighthouse which you can still go up and look at today was built in 1908.

The castle complex was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest on April 22, 1949.