Fort of Santa Cruz

Fort Santa Cruz is one of the 3 forts in Oran, the second largest port metropolis of Algeria; the opposite forts are Fort de l. A. Moune on the western give up of the port and Fort Saint-Philippe, a substitute of the antique castle of the Saints recognised in Spanish as Castillo de los Santos, at the centre of Oran. The 3 forts are related by way of tunnels. Fort Santa Cruz turned into built among 1577 and 1604 by the Spaniards on the Pic d’Aidour above Gulf of Oran in the Mediterranean Sea, at an elevation of above four hundred metres.

In 1831, the French occupied Oran and the castle. A small chapel, called the Chapel of Santa Cruz, stands close to the fortress. This chapel has been refurbished with a tower, which has a big statue of the Virgin Mary, said to be a duplicate of that at Notre-Dame de l. A. Garde in Marseilles, styled as Notre-Dame du Salut de Santa Cruz.