Cartagena colombia travel guide introduce you The Clock Tower. This an emblematic 30-meter-high construction that rises between the Los Coches and La Paz squares.
This beautiful monument, considered one of the five most beautiful public clocks in the world, keeps in itself the history of a city that was once protected by its gates. Built on a wall canvas, the Cartagena Clock Tower is one of the obligatory steps to get to know the Historic Center of the city.
Its first foundations were laid in 1601, when it was called La Puerta del Puente, due to the wooden viaduct that connected the island of Getsemaní with the Center, then known as Calamarí. This is how it became the main gate of the city since 1631, when the walled fence was completed.
Curiosities
– It is located between the squares of La Paz and Los Coches, a place that in the Colony served as a transit point and a slave market.
– It has had different names such as: Puerta del Reloj and Boca del Puente.
– The first clock that the Tower held was brought from the United States in 1874. 63 years later, in its place, the current clock imported from Switzerland was placed, the North American one being transferred to the temple in the Torices neighborhood.
– The side vaults, which were sealed, were fully opened at the beginning of the 20th century, when the left door was opened.
– The name “Puerta del Reloj” responds to the clock with which it was crowned at the beginning of the 18th century. While the name “Boca del Puente” is due to the fact that during the colonial period a drawbridge was built at the foot of the San Anastasio Canal, which linked the walled city with Gethsemane. In addition, the bridge served as a defense, since in case of an enemy attack, it was raised to prevent the access of pirates and buccaneers.
– The gate was protected by the bastions of San Pedro Apóstol and San Juan Bautista. It has a post-classical style in its facade. Its side vaults were built, bomb-proof, for the storage of ammunition.
– Its style evokes the facade of the church of the convent of San Francisco in Santo Domingo. In fact, both doors have a Roman semi-circular arch, flanked by two pairs of Tuscan columns and the same entablature with a frieze decorated with triglyphs.
– It measures 30 meters high and has the most important clock in Colombia which, according to BBC Travel, is one of the 5 most emblematic in the world. Due to pirate attacks, the clock had to be changed several times.
– This work became the main gate of Cartagena when the walled fence was completed; years later, it was partially destroyed by the Baron de Pointis, and in 1704 it was repaired by the engineer Juan Herrera.
It should not surprise us that Cartagena de Indias is full of so many stories and curious facts, since even before the arrival of the Spaniards it was already a place that attracted visitors who were enchanted by the exuberant beauty of this region and its strategic location. . Today the city has become one of the most popular tourist destinations around the world and its Clock Tower is recognized and admired by the thousands of visitors who take it in photos as one of their most precious memories of their time in The Heroic.
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