In 1792, when the people of Campeche thought the pirate attacks were over, they found themselves having to prepare for another possible invasion; This time by the English army, who had already taken Florida and Belize by then. Faced with fear, the city’s defenses had to be redoubled by building two forts, San José and San Miguel, one on each of the two hills that flank the capital of Campeche. The attack, however, never took place.
The Fort of San Miguel was built on Buena Vista Hill and was put to the test 50 years later, when General Santa Ana set up his encampment in order to besiege Campeche during the separation from Yucatán in 1842.
Nowadays, you can walk through the dry moat to see two bridges: the sleeper bridge, made of stone masonry and the drawbridge, made of wood. The winding walkway juts out at the point where cannons were installed to prevent easy access by the enemy. At the top, there are three lookout posts which were used to shelter sentries: two overlooking land, and one overlooking the sea.
However, its greatest gem has nothing to do with military defense, rather with the splendor of Mayan culture, having now become the Museo de Arqueología de Campeche (the Archeological Museum of Campeche). There are two collections, spread out across 10 rooms, which consist of jade funerary masks found in the tombs of the Divinos Señores de Calakmul, and funerary figurines from the island of Jaina.
A winding yellow path leads you to the Fort of San Miguel, which has now been turned into the Museo de Arqueología Subacuática (Underwater Archeology Museum). Before entering the rooms, make sure you go right to the top, up a stepped ramp, in order to get the very best views of the city, the bay, and the vast Los Petenes Biosphere Reserve.
When coming back down, keep an eye out for the gems to be found in this museum, such as skeletal megafauna remains dating back to the Ice Age; the skeleton of Naia, the oldest female skeleton in America, which is 13 thousand years old; semi-precious stones and silver coins found on Alacranes reef, and an interactive room where a submerged cave is recreated to explain how Mexican territory was formed.
In 1792, when the people of Campeche thought the pirate attacks were over, they found themselves having to prepare for another possible invasion; This time by the English army, who had already taken Florida and Belize by then. Faced with fear, the city’s defenses had to be redoubled by building two forts, San José and San Miguel, one on each of the two hills that flank the capital of Campeche. The attack, however, never took place.
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The Fort of San Miguel was built on Buena Vista Hill and was put to the test 50 years later, when General Santa Ana set up his encampment in order to besiege Campeche during the separation from Yucatán in 1842.
Nowadays, you can walk through the dry moat to see two bridges: the sleeper bridge, made of stone masonry and the drawbridge, made of wood. The winding walkway juts out at the point where cannons were installed to prevent easy access by the enemy. At the top, there are three lookout posts which were used to shelter sentries: two overlooking land, and one overlooking the sea.
However, its greatest gem has nothing to do with military defense, rather with the splendor of Mayan culture, having now become the Museo de Arqueología de Campeche (the Archeological Museum of Campeche). There are two collections, spread out across 10 rooms, which consist of jade funerary masks found in the tombs of the Divinos Señores de Calakmul, and funerary figurines from the island of Jaina.
A winding yellow path leads you to the Fort of San Miguel, which has now been turned into the Museo de Arqueología Subacuática (Underwater Archeology Museum). Before entering the rooms, make sure you go right to the top, up a stepped ramp, in order to get the very best views of the city, the bay, and the vast Los Petenes Biosphere Reserve.
When coming back down, keep an eye out for the gems to be found in this museum, such as skeletal megafauna remains dating back to the Ice Age; the skeleton of Naia, the oldest female skeleton in America, which is 13 thousand years old; semi-precious stones and silver coins found on Alacranes reef, and an interactive room where a submerged cave is recreated to explain how Mexican territory was formed.
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