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Castillo San Felipe del Lara
Castillo San Felipe de Lara
The old Spanish fortress of San Felipe is found near the town of Frontera, where a bridge spans the the Rio Dulce. This small fortress was built in 1651-2 at the lake's mouth, to keep out marauding pirates. Later it served as a prison and was reconstructed as a historical monument in 1956
For a history of the Castillo, see:
The Castillo San Felipe de Lara - English
Early in the Sixteenth Century, trade was established between Guatemala and Spain via what was then called the Golfo Dulce. Constant attacks by pirates in the Gulf of Mexico and incursions into Guatemala through the Rio Dulce made it necessary to defend the entrance to Lake Izabal where warehouses had been set up for goods entering from or leaving for Spain. |