Fort Santa Cruz is one of the three fortresses of Oran, the second largest port city in Algeria. The other two citadels, Fort de la Man and Saint-Philippe, are located in the western part of the port and the city centre. The three fortresses are connected by tunnels.
Fort Santa Cruz was built between 1577 and 1604 by the Spanish at an altitude of over 400 metres, and in 1831 Oran and the fort were occupied by the French. A small chapel known as the Church of Santa Cruz is located next to the fort. This Catholic chapel was restored together with a tower and a huge statue of the Virgin Mary, a copy of the structure at Notre Dame de la Garde in Marseille. From the heights there is a spectacular view of Mers el Kebir, the strategic military port of Oran.
The first fortress was founded by the Turks, and after the Spanish defeated them in the sixteenth century, Fort Santa Cruz came under their control for 300 years, until 1792. At that time, the citadel housed the governors of Oran.
Spanish authorities fortified the city and the fortress, making Santa Cruz the strongest and tallest of the three citadels of Oran, dominating the Muslim city with Moorish architecture.
The fortifications of the fortress consist of thick continuous walls more than two and a half kilometres in circumference. In between are strong towers with a central castle, the Casbah, where the leadership headquarters were located. The materials used for construction were metal, wood, sand, lime and water. They were transported to the hill by complex routes using ropes. The fortifications were expanded many times and the defences were improved. There are underground passages between all forts, galleries running under the city with exits in different parts of the hill. To provide drinking water, a system of rainwater collection and storage with a reservoir of 300,000 litres was provided.
The Santa Cruz Chapel was built by the Bishop of Orange to commemorate the miraculous deliverance of the city from a cholera epidemic in 1847. It is now a place of pilgrimage.
Tourist excursions are organised around the fort, whose architecture is very well preserved.
