The Ozama Fortress or Santo Domingo Fortress is one of the historical Cultural Monuments of the Colonial City of Santo Domingo, The Ozama Fortress is located on Las Damas Street, in the Colonial Zone in the city of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, in the Dominican Republic. Dominican and is one of the places with more history and visited in this area.
It was built by the Spanish during the colonial era and is the oldest fort in America. It was declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage building, along with other historical monuments of the Colonial City.
The Ozama Fortress is part of the Colonial City of Santo Domingo. According to historians and architects, the construction of this monument lasted from 1502 to 1508, which was initiated by Governor Nicolás Ovando.
The main objective of this construction was to protect the city from various attacks by English pirates, and French and Portuguese invaders.
The Ozama Fortress was called Torre del Homenaje during colonial times, although later it was also called Torre de la Vigía or de la Vigilancia, since at the top you could see the entrance of the Ozama River and the coast of the Caribbean Sea.
In 1965, in the month of April, the Patriotic War broke out led by a group of soldiers and the people, electing Colonel Caamaño as Constitutional President of the Republic on May 4. During the Government of Colonel Francisco Alberto Caamaño Deño, the Ozama Fortress ceased to be a military compound by Law No. 11 of President Caamaño, becoming a public place, with the name of Plaza de la Constitución, Law contained in the Official Gazette No. 4 of his Government.
The construction of this fortress is designed in the form of a stone castle and still retains its original architecture. Inside the fortress there are tunnels and dungeons where the prisoners were locked up, Christopher Columbus himself being one of the most important characters in the history of America who was locked up there.
The Ozama Fortress is made up of:
- The Tribute Tower.
- The Portal of Carlos III.
- The Statue of Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo.
- The Powder Keg.
- The Fort of Santiago.
- The Low Firing Platform.
- The High Shooting Platform.
- The ruins of the First Work.
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