Fort San Domingo/Hongmao castle

One of the most famous remains of the Spanish rule in Dasnhui

Fort San Domingo (Spanish Fuerte Santo Domingo, Dutch Fort Anotnio, Chinese Hongmao castle or 紅毛城) is probably the most famous historic site in Danshui. The town was first inhabited by aboriginal Taiwanese, but later came Chinese, Spanish, Dutch, British, even Japanese. Only few Taiwanese towns had such a rich and colorful history as Danshui, that's why it's really interesting to explore all the famous historic sites there. My girlfriend and I started our history tour at this fort, that was already built in 1629 by the Spanish, who came here and colonized this part of Taiwan. But then there was much more to see, than we expected.

These are the countries that reigned over this fort in the recent 400 years.

Let me share with you a timeline of historic events connected with the fort:

1829: Spanish build a wooden fort above Danshui.

1836: Angry locals protest the high taxes, burn the fort down.

1837: Spanish build a new fort made of stones, build a higher wall.

1642: The Dutch expel the Spaniards from Danshui, Spaniards destroy the fort.

1644: The Dutch build a new fort, call it Fort Antonio, locals call it Hongmao castle.

1683: The Qing Dynasty has control over the fort, builds four gates.

1868: The British gain control over the fort, paint the white facade red.

1891: The British build their consular residence next to the fort.

1941: Japanese briefly hold control over the fort, lose it in 1945.

1972: The Republic of China gains control over the fort.

1984: The fort is open to public, listed as a first class national historic site.

2005: The fort was thoroughly renovated.

Let me share some photos with you:

1 Fort San Domingo/Hongmao castle:

The view on the fort from below.

The facade looks like new and the ROC flag looks majestic.

A closeup on the fort, people inside looking out, looks like the girl is on the phone.

The look down from the fort. Everything is clean and neat.

The fort from another angle, this time from the upper area.

2 Former British Consular Residence:

This structure was added in 1891, served as a consulate for the British.

The brick facade is very beautiful.

A closeup on the brick facade. I had the feeling I was somewhere in Western Europe.

We went inside, which is a display of the former British consulate.

A nice fireplace. Looks really cozy to me. You won't find this in Taiwanese homes.

A picture of the British Queen.

And then we walked outside a little more, checked the backyard.

And then going down and off to new historic sites.

This fort is really worth to see. We paid 60NTD which is less than 1,5 Euros. The whole area is small. If you walk around, 30min to 1h will be enough to see most of it.

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[DANSHUI][My TAIWAN page][Danshui map][Info Sources: 1, 2][All photos by MKL]