La Fortaleza

La Fortaleza (English: "the fortress"), also known as the Palacio de Santa Catalina ("Saint Catherine's Palace"), is the official residence and workplace of the Governor of Puerto Rico. Located in the historic quarter of Old San Juan in the capital city and municipality of San Juan, it has housed the governor since the 16th century, making it the oldest executive seat in continuous use in the New World. Built as a medieval fortress from 1533 to 1540 by orders of King Charles I of Spain and remodeled to its present Neoclassical style in 1846 by orders of Governor Rafael Arístegui, it was the first fortification erected by the Spanish on San Juan Islet to defend San Juan Bay, the harbor of Old San Juan.

Alongside El Morro, San Cristóbal, and other forts part of the Walls of Old San Juan, it protected strategically and militarily important Puerto Rico, or La Llave de las Indias (The Key to the Indies), from invasions by competing world powers and raids from privateers and pirates during the Age of Discovery and Sail. It was designated a World Heritage Site in 1983.

Situated in the western end of San Juan Islet in the Old San Juan historic quarter, La Fortaleza, seat of the executive branch, is about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the Capitol of Puerto Rico, seat of the legislative branch, in the center of the Islet in the Puerta de Tierra historic district, and 2 miles (3.2 km) from the Supreme Court Building, seat of the judicial branch, in the eastern end of the Islet in Puerta de Tierra. The Court and Capitol are directly connected via Luis Muñoz Rivera Avenue in the north and Juan Ponce de León Avenue in the south, both of which are directly linked to La Fortaleza via San Francisco Street in the north and Fortaleza Street in the south.

Text adapted from “La Fortaleza” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

La Fortaleza ranks #844 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #14 of the 105 mapped in United States. Founded 1533, it is older than 43% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 718 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,486 times in the last 60 days, more than 83% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how United States compares in the castle statistics.

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