Hidalgo Castle

The Castillo Hidalgo

The Santiago audio-guided tour takes you to the summit of the Cerro Santa Lucia, before the Castillo Hidalgo. Cannons, fortified gates and walls recall the military past of this hill transformed into a bastion.

A castle born of the Reconquest

During the period of the Reconquest, the last attempt by Spain to keep Chile in its colonial empire, the Cerro Santa Lucia was transformed into a royalist bastion. The castle was built in 1816 on the order of the governor Casimiro Marcó del Pont to defend the city, under the name of Santa Lucia Battery. After independence, it took the name of Hidalgo, in tribute to an Argentine captain who died at the battle of Chacabuco, a decisive battle which, by the victory of the armies of General San Martín, marked the end of the Reconquest.

What there is to see

Perched at the summit of the hill, the castle offers fine views over the city and a testimony of the military past of Santiago. The site today hosts private events. It once housed an astronomical observatory, between 1840 and 1862, and was served at the beginning of the twentieth century by a small rack railway, one of the first in the southern hemisphere. The descent is made by the stairs.

Practical information

The Castillo Hidalgo is at the summit of the Cerro Santa Lucia, in Santiago. Hosting private events, it cannot always be freely visited; its surroundings and its viewpoints can be discovered along the ascent of the hill, which is made by stairs.

Why is the castle called Hidalgo?

In tribute to an Argentine captain who died at the battle of Chacabuco, decisive for the independence of Chile; it was first called the Santa Lucia Battery.

When was the Castillo Hidalgo built?

In 1816, on the order of governor Casimiro Marcó del Pont, to defend the city during the Spanish Reconquest.