The nationalist group CC-PNC of the Cabildo de Tenerife has requested that the Island Corporation acquire the Castillo de San Joaquín, a fortification located between Santa Cruz and La Laguna built in 1586 and rebuilt in 1780 that has been a Site of Cultural Interest (BIC) since the year 2000 with the category of Monument.
A castle in Tenerife is sold for three million euros
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The nationalist councilor Antolín Bueno will present a motion in the plenary commission of the Presidency and Social Action that is being held this Friday so that the Insular Corporation initiates the procedures for its acquisition “in order to rehabilitate it and use it as an educational, cultural and service center for the citizenship”.
Antolín Bueno stressed that the historical importance of the Castillo de San Joaquín “is enormous and its rescue is essential.” “It would be extremely useful for the Historical Heritage of Tenerife and, by extension, of the Canary Islands, as it could form part of the island’s historical heritage catalog and have public use,” he added.
The Castillo de San Joaquín lost its military function in 1991 and the Ministry of Defense put it up for public auction in 1996 and acquired it from an individual. Four years later -in the year 2000- the Government of the Canary Islands declared it BIC, with the protection that this entails.
“We are talking about a fortification that was built in 1586 and rebuilt in 1780. Throughout its existence it has had various uses: warehouse, defensive fortress, military dovecote, practice school and training ground, professional repair shop and maintenance of the Army and military prison until losing its military function in 1991. In addition, a house was built for the military commander and accommodation for the guard corps. We believe that the Cabildo has to acquire it to recover its history and put it at the service of citizens as a cultural and educational center,” Bueno said.
The origin of the castle of San Joaquín is located in a modest battery with four pieces of artillery, built next to the San Joaquín ravine in 1586 by the military governor Juan Núñez de la Fuente, based on the report by the military engineer Leonardo Torriani, to defend the city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna from possible attacks by pirates and corsairs who had crossed the first line of the beach, since from this cornice or valley the ascent from the port to the capital of the island was controlled.
In 1780, after two centuries standing and becoming abandoned and in very poor condition, taking advantage of and using this dominant position, the commander general Joaquín José Ibáñez Cuevas, Marqués de la Cañada, ordered Lieutenant Colonel Andrés Amat de Tortosa, chief of the Royal Corps of Engineers, to build a castle, unlike any other on the island.
The battery was reformed and enlarged in 1786, when it began to have the appearance that can be seen today, in such a way that four buckets were added at the corners and it was equipped with a guardhouse, kitchen, warehouses, etc. Its interior has been renovated over the years, depending on the use to which it was to be put.
The castle is for sale in a real estate for a price of 3,187,416 euros.
