General Artigas Fortress

Attention!. You are arriving at Cerro de Montevideo, in front of the General Artigas Fortress, one of the highest points in the city. From this natural viewpoint we can see the entire bay and immediately understand why this site was so strategic in the past. History. Its construction began in 1809 by order of the Spanish governor Francisco Javier de Elío, officially ending in 1811. It constitutes the last military fortification erected by the Spanish Crown in the territory of the Banda Oriental. The main objective of its construction was to protect the lighthouse installed shortly before on the summit and protect the city from invasions, after the British occupation attempts that occurred in 1807. Throughout the 19th century, the fortress witnessed various decisive conflicts in the formation of the country, such as the Battle of the Hill in 1826 during the independence process, and was temporarily occupied by Brazilian imperial troops in 1851. In 1882 it was formally named Fortaleza General Artigas, in homage to the national hero José Gervasio Artigas. Present. In 1931 the complex was declared a National Historical Monument and important restoration works began, promoted by the historian Horacio Arredondo. By 1939, the building definitively lost its defensive function to reopen its doors as the General Artigas Military Museum, managed…

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