Cartagena de Indias Clock Tower

Torre o Puerta del Reloj de Cartagena de indias
Cartagena de Indias Clock Tower - Photo: José María Arboleda C.

The Cartagena de Indias Clock Tower It is one of the most important colonial architectural jewels of Colombia, it is also known as Clock Gate either Mouth of the Bridge; Its historical and architectural importance has led it to become an important cultural heritage of Colombians.

History of the clock tower

Foto antigua de la puerta del Reloj o Boca del Puente de Cartagena de indias.
Old photo of the Cartagena clock tower.

Its construction began in the year 1601, and in the year 1631 when the enclosure of what is today the Historic Center of Cartagena It became the main entrance to the city and was known as Boca del Puente, because it had a drawbridge over the San Anastasio channel that connected with the island of Gethsemane, today Gethsemane neighborhood.

Years later, during Baron de Pointis's assault on Cartagena The door was partially destroyed, in 1704 it was repaired by the Engineer Juan Herrera y Sotomayor (Founder in 1731 of the Carthaginian Military Academy of Mathematicas, first engineering academy in America).

(Also read: Customs Square in Cartagena de Indias)

Sotomayor added the current style that the entrance has, which is made up of a baroque doorway with a Roman arcade and four Tuscan columns with an entablature with a frieze decorated with triglyphs, also adding two bomb-proof side vaults for the storage of provisions and ammunition; a style similar to the facade of the church of the Convent of San Francisco in the city of Santo Domingo.

Imagen Vieja de la Torre del reloj de Cartagena
Old Image of the Cartagena Clock Tower

In the year 1874, a two-sided clock brought from the United States was placed on the simple quadrangular tower, one of the faces facing the Plaza de los Coches and the other facing what is today the Plaza de la Paz, years later. This watch would later be exchanged for a Swiss brand.

In 1888 as Governor José Manuel Goenaga Gómez is entrusted to Luis Felipe Jasper Franco Creating a new design for the tower, Jaspe then created an octagonal design away from the traditional square structures that were used for towers in the city and gave the clock a neo-Gothic style, with this change the Tower reached its current height of 30 Meters.

(Read Also: Church of San Pedro Claver in Cartagena de Indias)

The door in the right side vault was opened in 1803 and the door in the left side vault was opened in 1905 with resources donated by the Cuban merchant Francisco Javier de Balmaceda.

This door is one of the most accomplished works of the Hispano-American Fortification School and possibly one of the best preserved in America, since it rigorously complies with the dictates of the Vauban school.

Where is the Cartagena Clock Tower located?

The clock tower is located in the center of the city; between the Plaza de los Coches and the Plaza de la Paz.

The Most Beautiful Clock Towers in the World

In 2013, the BBC London, in its travel guide BBC Travel, published a list of the 5 Most Beautiful Clock Towers in the World; The Clock Tower of Cartagena de Indias was included in said list, due to its history, beauty and architectural importance.

Torre del Reloj de Cartagena de indias, Colombia
clock tower of cartagena de indias

Photos: José María Arboleda C. and Foteca de Cartagena de Indias.

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