FORT SAN PEDRO

Fort San Pedro stands at the very heart of Cebu City and there is nothing really much to do and to see here. However, if you're interested a little more facts about Cebu history, it can be a good place to begin your visit.

(Plaza Independencia in front of Fort San Pedro)
(Fort San Pedro)

As described in an official report of 1739, Fort San Pedro is triangular in shape and made of stone and mortar. The three bastions are La Concepcion, San Ignacio de Loyola, and San Miguel-Powder Magazine.

(an antique wood door that serves both as entrance and exit for visitors)

(photos of Fort San Pedro in the past)

Fort San Pedro is the smallest and oldest fort in the country. This served as the nucleus of the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines. It has a total inside area of 2,025 sq. meters. The walls are 20 feet high, 8 feet thick and towers are 30 feet high from the ground level. Work first started on May 8, 1565 with MIGUEL LOPEZ DE LEGASPI breaking the ground. After the battle of Manila Bay, Commodore George Dewey turned the forth to the local Cebuanos; then it became an American Warwick Barracks during the American Regime which was later converted into classrooms where the Cebuanos received formal education.

(a mini-store inside the fort)
(a mix of ornaments sold)
(windows with distinguishing features of colonial architecture)

During World War II, from 1941 to 1945, it served as fortification for Japanese soldier, when the battle for liberation was fought, the fort served as an army camp. After 1950, Cebu Garden Club took over and fixed the inner court into a miniature garden. For a couple of years it also housed the Cebu City Zoo. In 1978 to August 15, 1993, it housed the offices of the Department of Tourism and the Philippine Tourism Authority. At present, it is under the care and administration of the National Museum.

(a passageway leading to the stairs)
(a triangular shape garden used nowadays as a venue for birthdays, wedding receptions and other social functions. Open garden with bermuda grass and cemented open stage)

(the stone staircase leading up to the watchtower , museum and cannons)

These days the fort is made into a museum. Inside, the fort houses the legacies of the Spanish Government with well preserved Spanish artifacts such as: documents written in Spanish, Paintings, sculptures, cannons, chapel, prison dungeons, living rooms, bedrooms, school, roomsoasis garden. A large statue of Legazpi and Antonio Pigafetta is erected outside the fort. The museum also contains old coins dating back to the time of the Spanish colonization of the Philippines.

(another mini-shop on the upper ground)
(the National Museum found on the upper ground)
(on the other side is where various cannons are on display)
(the view from the top of Fort San Pedro)

If you'll visit here, no reservations are necessary. You can tour at your own pace. Fort San Pedro charges an entrance fee of Php 15.00 per head.

(source: dti cebu, philtourism)