The Castle of Santa Cruz ( Galician: ''Castelo de Santa Cruz'') is a castle on an island of the same name in

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

, Galicia, Spain. It is located in the town of Porto de Santa Cruz, municipality of Oleiros. The fortress was built in the sixteenth century by General Diego Dasmariñas to improve the defensive system of the bay of A Coruña.

History

Construction began in either 1594 or 1595 when Diego das Mariñas was ''caitàn general'' of Galicia, following the plans of military engineer Pedro Rodríguez Muñiz. It was completed with new bulwarks, parapets and pavilions in the 18th century, when Martín Cermeño was ''caitàn general.'' After losing its strategic value, the castle was abandoned. It was acquired by José Quiroga Pérez de Deza, husband of the author

Emilia Pardo Bazán Emilia Pardo Bazán y de la Rúa-Figueroa (16 September 185112 May 1921), countess of Pardo Bazán, was a Spanish novelist, journalist, literary critic, poet, playwright, translator, editor and professor. She is known for introducing naturalis ...

, to serve as their summer residence. In 1939, their daughter Blanca Quiroga donated it to the army to be used as a summer camp for children orphaned in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

. The castle served this purpose until 1978. In 1989, the city council of Oleiros acquired the castle for the purpose of environmental education. In 2001, the CEIDA - Centro de Extensión Universitaria y Divulgación Ambiental de Galicia was established in this place through the collaborative efforts of the

Xunta de Galicia The Xunta de Galicia (; "Regional Government of Galicia") is the collective decision-making body of the government of the autonomous community of Galicia, composed of the President, the Vice-President(s) and the specialized ministers (''Consell ...

, the

University of A Coruña The University of A Coruña ( gl, Universidade da Coruña) is a Spanish public university located in the city of A Coruña, Galicia. Established in 1989, university departments are divided between two primary campuses in A Coruña and nearby Fer ...

, and the city council of Oleiros.

References

{{Spain-castle-stub Castles in Galicia (Spain) Buildings and structures in the Province of A Coruña Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of A Coruña