Morro Castle

Fortress in the northeast of the island of Puerto Rico. Morro Castle stands at the extremity of the San Juan Peninsula (the Punta del Morro) and of Old San Juan, overlooking San Juan Bay (to the south) and the Atlantic Ocean (to the north). It was built by the Spanish between 1539 and 1589.

Morro Castle was instrumental in thwarting Sir Francis Drake's attempted invasion of Puerto Rico in 1595, although the British did hold the fort for three months in 1598. Set on a rocky promontory, it has six stories of gun emplacements and massive 43 m/140 ft-high stone walls. Its architecture and the spectacular views it commands have made it a popular tourist attraction. It is sometimes confused with the late 16th-century fortresses in Havana and Santiago, Cuba, both of which are also known as Morro Castle.