Torre de Son Ganxo
| Torre de Son Ganxo | ||
|---|---|---|
 The Torre de Son Ganxo |
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| Alternative name (s): | Torre de Punta Prima | |
| Creation time : | 1785-1787 | |
| Conservation status: | restored (2011) | |
| Construction: | Limestone - masonry | |
| Place: | Punta Prima | |
| Geographical location | 39 ° 48 '39.5 " N , 4 ° 16' 33.2" E | |
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The Torre de Son Ganxo or Torre de Punta Prima is a defense tower in Punta Prima on the Balearic island of Menorca . It was the prototype for eleven other towers that were built on the coast of the island during the British occupation from 1798 to 1802.
Description and history
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The Torre de Son Ganxo was built together with the structurally identical Torre d'Alcalfar from 1785 to 1787 according to plans by the military engineer Ramón Santander to protect the flat coast in southeast Menorca against raids by Algerian pirates . Attackers from the sea could be caught in the crossfire from the two and a half kilometers apart towers . With the exception of the Torre de Sant Nicolau in Ciutadella , built in 1680 , there were only watchtowers on Menorca that were not equipped with cannons .
The round, conically tapering Torre de Son Ganxo was opened on June 17, 1787. It is made of Marès , the limestone found in the Balearic Islands , built as natural stone masonry with mortar and clad on the outside with large stone blocks. On the sea side, the walls are made stronger in order to better withstand the fire from ship cannons. The tower consists of three levels, the floors of which can also be seen from the outside through protruding bricks. Access was originally only through a landside door in the middle level, which could be reached via a ladder. The ground floor was divided into three rooms in which ammunition , gunpowder and provisions were stored. The space for storage of the powder was ventilated through channels communicating with the outside. They run zigzag through the wall so that no opponent could trigger an explosion by bringing in burning objects. The other two rooms are provided with loopholes . In the foundation there was a cistern filled with rainwater that was drawn here through canals from the upper platform of the tower.
In the middle level there is a round room in which the crew was accommodated. There was a fireplace for cooking and heating. The vaulted, hemispherical ceiling has a thick layer of clay to better absorb vibrations from enemy fire. A spiral staircase in the wall leads to a chamber in the parapet , from which the roof platform is accessed. A second chamber in a dungeon contains six machiculis to defend the entrance. This chamber also contains a trap door at the end of a shaft through which the cannonballs could be drawn up from the floor below. This shaft took on the function of a murder hole if the enemy managed to penetrate the tower.
There were three cannons on the platform. There was also a small oven here, with which the cannonballs could be heated red hot in order to set enemy ships on fire.
In November 1798, British troops landed on the island and, despite their numerical inferiority, encountered little resistance. To protect the coasts from a French invasion, the British Governor Lieutenant General Sir Charles Stuart ordered the construction of Martello Towers around the island. When building it, the British largely followed the construction principles of the Torre de Son Ganxo. By the time Great Britain had to cede the island to Spain again in 1802 after the Peace of Amiens , eleven more towers were built. Most of the Martello towers in Ireland are also based on the Torre de Son Ganxo.
Todays use
The tower was extensively restored in 2011 for € 177,000 and has been used as a youth hostel ever since . Its entrance is now on the ground floor.
The Torre de Son Ganxo has been a listed building since 1985 . It is registered with the Spanish Ministry of Culture under number RI-51-0008584.
See also
Web links
- 360 ° panorama photos of the interior of the tower and the view (see: http://www.360cities.net/es/image/torre-c-pula-interior)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Resseguint l'empremta britànica a Menorca , accessed on March 31, 2015.
- ↑ Francisco Fornals Villalonga: Torres de Defensa del Consorcio del Museo Lilitar de Menorca (PDF; 16.8 MB). In: Ejercito de tierra español 71, No. 834, 2010, pp. 54–59.
- ↑ a b Torre de Son Ganxo on the Mallorca Torres website, accessed on March 26, 2015.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Mónica Fernández de la Fuente: Torres Martello en la isla de Menorca (PDF; 1.19 MB), 4th Congreso de Castellología, Madrid, 7. – 9. March 2012.
- ↑ a b c Jason Bolton: Martello Towers Research Project (PDF; 1.7 MB), 2008, p. 23 ff.
- ↑ Son Ganxo Tower on the Menorca Cultural website, accessed on March 26, 2015.
- ↑ Torre de Son Ganxo in the monument protection catalog of the municipality of Sant Lluís .