Fort of Santa Cruz (Oran)
| Fort of Santa Cruz | |
|---|---|
| Oran, Algeria | |
Entrance to the Fort of Santa Cruz | |
Notre-Dame de Santa Cruz | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Fort |
| Controlled by | Government of Algeria |
| Open to the public | Yes |
| Location | |
Fort of Santa Cruz | |
| Coordinates | 35°42′25″N 0°39′55″W / 35.707026°N 0.665374°W |
| Site history | |
| Built | Seventeenth century |
| Built by | Ottomans and Spaniards |
| Materials | Stone and brick |
| Battles/wars | Ottomans, Spaniards and French |
Fort of Santa Cruz is a fort in Oran, the second largest port city of Algeria. It is one of Oran's three forts; the other two forts are Fort de la Moune at the western end of the port and Fort Saint-Philippe, a replacement of the old castle of the Saints known in Spanish as Castillo de los Santos, at the centre of Oran. The three forts are connected by tunnels. Fort of Santa Cruz was built between 1577 and 1604 by the Spaniards on the Pic d'Aidour above Gulf of Oran in the Mediterranean Sea, at an elevation of above 400 metres (1,312 ft). In 1831, the French occupied Oran and the fort.
A small chapel, known as the Chapel of Santa Cruz, stands close to the fort. This chapel has been refurbished with a tower, which has a huge statue of the Virgin Mary, said to be a replica of that at Notre-Dame de la Garde in Marseille, styled as Notre-Dame du Salut de Santa Cruz.