Santa Rosa de la Eminencia castle Santa Rosa de la Eminencia castle is a colonial castle built in the seventeenth century by the Spanish monarchy in La Asunción , Venezuela . Its construction started on 24 March 1677 by order of governor Juan Muñoz de Gadea after a group of French pirates attacked the city , and finished . The structure comprises three defensive fronts , each one with two bastion s , two half bastions and three curtains , and is positioned at the top of a hill that overlooks the city . The castle served as a prison for war heroine Luisa Cáceres de Arismendi between November 1815 and January 1816 . She was held captive by the Spanish forces on an attempt to bow down her husband , Juan Bautista Arismendi , who was the chief of the patriotic forces on the island . Simón Bolívar ' s arrival to the island prompted the partial destruction and abandonment of the fort in May 1816 . By 1899 , the facility serviced as headquarters , and later as quarters for the National Army . It was declared as a National Monument in 1965 . Description . The Santa Rosa de la Eminencia castle was built in the seventeenth century ; its construction started on 24 March 1677 and finished , under the command of field master Don Juan Fermin . Construction of the fortress began by order of governor Juan Muñoz de Gadea after a group of French pirates attacked the city in early 1677 . The castle is positioned at the top of a hill that overlooks the city of La Asunción , and next to a reservoir . It comprises three defensive fronts , each one with two bastion s , two half bastions and three curtains . The castle also includes barracks , a chapel , and a cistern , located at the parade along a curbstone and the ramp leading to the upper level . La Asunción was founded in 1562 by Pedro González Cervantes de Albornoz on the Santa Lucía valley , located at the eastern part of the Margarita island on the state of Nueva Esparta . The city was an important stronghold at the Venezuelan War of Independence . History . From November 1815 and until January 1816 , Luisa Cáceres de Arismendi , a heroine of the Venezuelan War of Independence , was imprisoned in the castle . The Spaniards wanted to bow down her husband , Juan Bautista Arismendi , who was the chief of the patriotic forces on the island . After the patriots attempted an unsuccessful takeover of the fort in December 1815 , Arismendi gave birth in January 1816 to a child that died at birth due to the terrible conditions of her confinement in the castle . Later in May 1816 , Simón Bolívar ' s arrival to the island prompted the abandonment and partial destruction of the fort by the Spanish forces . Between 1818 and 1821 , the structure was repaired and used as an artillery quarter during the War of Independence . It was later used as a magazine for the storage of gunpowder and ammunition in 1830 ; two years later , it functioned as barraks and armory . By 1899 , the facility serviced as headquarters , and after receiving further repairs under instructions from the president Cipriano Castro in 1901 , it served as quarters for the National Army . The sickness and eventual death of president Juan Vicente Gómez in 1935 led to the abandonment of the castle by the troops . Later in 1955 , and due to a local initiative , the castle achieved the status of War Museum . It was declared as a National Monument in 1965 by president Raúl Leoni .