Havana, Cuba | “Muralla de La Habana”, One of the Great and Widely Photographed Attractions of the City

Havana, the capital of Cuba, located on La Habana Bay on the island’s north coast, defined by its rich history, vibrant culture, and unique, often crumbling, colonial architecture, highlighteds by the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the “ Habana Vieja”, the old Havana, the scenic 8 kilometres Malecón seaside promenade, vintage American cars, and known for its lively arts scene,  including the “Fabrica de Arte Cubano” and historical sites like the Capitolio, Plaza de la Revolución square and also the “ Muralla de La Habana” the Walls of Havana, one of the great and widely photographed attractions in the city.

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Havana was consolidated as the most important port of the Spanish Empire in the New World, its strategic bay, with a pocket and a narrow and easily defined entrance channel became the obligatory meeting point for the Fleets of the Indies.

Galleons laden with the riches of Mexico, Peru and other countries of Central and South America, gems, gold, hides, silver, agricultural products and several other goods stopped in Havana to stock up on supplies and organize themselves before embarking on the perilous crossing of the Atlantic with destination Seville, Andalucia’s capital and largest city in southern Spain.

This concentration of treasures made Havana a magnet for corsairs, pirates, and enemy powers, who saw in their capture or looting a devastating blow to the Spanish crown. The attacks on Havana were the definitive trigger. The most famous occurred in 1555, when the French corsair Jacques de Sore sacked and burned the city, demonstrating vulnerability.

The response to this constant threat was the project of the construction of one of the most ambitious works of military engineering in colonial America, the “Muralla de La Habana”, the Havana Wall.

The Spanish Crown authorized its construction in 1603, but the works did not begin effectively until 1663, during the mandate of Governor Francisco Dávila Orejón. The process was slow, discontinuous and costly, financed in part by a special tax on port trade but experienced several delays for its development.

The “ Muralla de La Habana” was built over almost a century, between the late 17th and 18th centuries, to protect the city by land and as a continuation of the fortresses of El Morro, La Punta, and the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, the older and more inland fortress on the bay, representing a guardian and necessary fortification in the golden age of Habana, when the Cuban city was one of the most important cities in the Caribbean and in the Americas.

Its initial layout was expanded over time, started from the area of La Punta, where the Castle of San Salvador de la Punta would later be built, and ran along the urban perimeter of Havana to the mouth of the then Arroyo Chorro, a stream near the current Avenida Bélgica, an  avenue linking the area of Parque Central to Plaza de la Catedral square and Plaza de los Mártires del 71.

The wall was built following the principles of bastioned military architecture, designed to resist artillery, developed mainly with stone extracted from local limestone quarries such as those of San Lazáro, located near present - day Calle Hospital and Principe Street in Cayo Hueso, a “consejo popular” (ward) in the municipality of Centro Habana, a traditionally working - class neighbourhood populated by Afro - Cubans, and known for its many cultural landmarks such as the Callejón de Hamel, the Fragua Mariana Museum and the Parque de los Mártires Universitarios park.

The final wall was a formidable defensive structure reached a length of approximately 4.6 kilometres and enclosed an area of about 143 hectares. Its height varied between 10 metres at some points, and a thickness of up to 1.4 metres at the base. The wall in different stages was reinforced by numerous bastions, nine main ones, among them those of Ángel. Santo Domingo and La Tenaza and adding guard boxes.

By the mid - 19th century the “Muralla de La Habana” for various reasons lost its original military and defensive functions. After long debates, its demolition began in 1863, a process that was gradual and lasted for several decades.

Although physically it has almost disappeared, its layout continues to be visible, marking with precision the Historic Centre of Old Havana, declared a World Heritage by UNESCO in 1982, and what remain of this wall is historical, significant, and evocative, narrating the history of Havana and of the country.

Therefore the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cutlural Organization (UNESCO) recognized a structure that is currently discovered by several tourists when they are walking through the streets of the Cuban capital, admiring and photographing the fragments of this wall located at Avenida del Puerto, Avenida de Bélgica, in Old Havana, particularly near the Museo de la Revolución or those still visible close to the Railway Station.

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https://infoturlatam.com/una-muralla-que-atrae-a-los-turistas-en-cuba/