Santa Cruz Fort

The fort of Santa Cruz was built by the Spanish between the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries on the ridge of Djebel Murdjadjo, some four hundred metres above Oran, as the highest of three forts covering the port during their long occupation of the city. It survives as a substantial stone enclosure with bastions, vaulted rooms and cisterns, and the walk around the walls gives a complete view of Oran, the bay, the salt lake behind and the coast in both directions. Below the fort stands the chapel of Santa Cruz with a statue of the Virgin on a terrace, built in the nineteenth century after a cholera epidemic and still visited.

History

The Spaniards built the fort between 1577 and 1604 on the Pic d'Aïdour, more than 400 metres above the Gulf of Oran, as the highest of their three forts over the city, joined by tunnels to Fort de la Moune and Fort Saint-Philippe, and it once housed the city's governors. Despite the defences Oran faced repeated attacks, among them that of the Moroccan sultan Moulay Ismail in 1707, whose army was cut down before the walls, and facing the fort from a higher point the townspeople built a marabout chapel crowned with a crescent. After a strong earthquake left most of the city damaged, the Spaniards, who had ruled since 1509, left in 1792, and the French occupied Oran and the fort in 1831; a chapel beside it carries a large statue of the Virgin, said to copy that of Notre-Dame de la Garde in Marseille (Wikipedia, Fort of Santa Cruz - Oran).

What's there

• A Spanish fort on the ridge - bastions and vaulted rooms above the city.
• Views over Oran and the bay - the port, the salt lake and the coast.
• The chapel below the walls - the nineteenth-century shrine and terrace.
• Cisterns cut into the rock - the water supply of the garrison.

When to go

October to May; the climb and the exposed walls are hot in summer. Half a day. Late afternoon light over the bay is the best of it. Taxis wait at the top.

Things to know

The fort is unrestored in parts with unfenced drops and loose stone. There is no interpretation. The road up is steep and taxis charge accordingly. Litter around the site is heavy.

Nearby

Oran is below; Les Andalouses lies west along the coast.

Key facts