Thursday, August 12, 2010

Fort Pilar By Night


Fort Pilar (Spanish: Real Fuerza de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza) is a 17th century military defence fortress built by the Spanish colonial government in Zamboanga City on Mindanao Island in the Philippines.

In defense against pirates and raiders of the sultans of Mindanao and Jolo and upon the requests of the Jesuit missionaries and Bishop Fray Pedro of Cebu, the Spanish governor Juan Cerezo Salamanca approved the building of a stone fort in the year 1635. The fort was originally called "Real Fuerza de San José".

Fort Pilar is now an outdoor Roman Catholic Marian shrine and a museum. It is the major landmark of Zamboanga City and a symbol of the city's cultural heritage.




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