Castillo de la Real Fuerza The Castillo de la Real Fuerza ( Castle of the Royal Force ) is a star fort on the western side of the harbour in Havana , Cuba , set back from the entrance , and bordering the Plaza de Armas . Originally built to defend against attack by pirates , it suffered from a poor strategic position , being too far inside the bay . The fort is considered to be the oldest stone fort in the Americas , and was listed in 1982 as part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of " Old Havana and its Fortifications " . History . A previous fort , the Fuerza Vieja ( Old Force ) , was badly damaged in 1555 during an attack on Havana by the French privateer Jacques de Sores and eventually was demolished in 1582 . In 1558 Bartolomé Sánchez , an engineer appointed by King Philip II of Spain , began work on the new fort , initially known as the " Fuerza Nueva " ( New Force ) . The Fuerza Vieja was set back from the harbour , but the new fort was planned to be closer to the harbour to give it a better strategic position . The ironworks were established in 1558 , but the first stones were not laid until 1562 . Construction was delayed due to complaints from local residents forced to relocate to make way for the building and from disagreements between Sánchez and the Governor of Havana . The fort was not completed until 1577 , with slaves and French prisoners providing most of the labour . Built of limestone quarried from the Havana shoreline , the fortification incorporated thick sloping walls , a moat and drawbridge . The governor , Francisco Carreño , ordered the addition an upper storey as barracks and a munitions store , but on completion , the fort proved to be too small for practical use . Despite being positioned closer to the harbour than the Fuerza Vieja , it quickly became apparent that the new fort was still too distant from the mouth of the harbour to serve effectively as a defensive bulwark . Instead Juan de Tejeda adopted it as the residence of the Governor of Havana . Subsequent governors made changes to the building . The façade of the fortress was demolished in 1851 to allow O ’ Reilly Street to go all the way to the docks , and prevent the fort from overshadowing El Templete , which was completed in 1828 . In 1634 , Juan Vitrián de Viamonte added a watchtower with a weathervane sculpted in the form of a woman , by Gerónimo Martín Pinzón , an artist from Havana , and based on the figure crowning La Giralda in Seville . Although the reason for the choice of this figure , called " La Giraldilla " , is not known , a common suggestion is to honour Inés de Bobadilla , Havana ' s only female governor , who assumed control from her husband Hernando de Soto when he undertook an expedition to Florida . She spent many years scanning the horizon for signs of his returning ship ( unbeknown to her , he had died ) . The figure became the symbol of the city of Havana ( it features on the Havana Club rum label ) , and is now held at the City Museum housed in the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales in the Plaza de Armas , while a copy is in place on the watchtower . Use . The fort was home to the National Archive from 1899 and the National Library from 1938 up until 1957 , when both were relocated to a purpose - built library in Plaza de la Revolución . After the Cuban Revolution in 1959 , the fort housed the offices of the National Commission of Monuments and the Centre of Preservation , Restoration and Museology . The fort served briefly as the Museum of Arms , but the conditions within the fortress were not conducive to the preservation of the displays . In 1977 , on the 400th anniversary of completion , the building was inaugurated as a museum and used to display exhibitions of Cuban contemporary and international art . In 1990 , it became the National Museum of Cuban Ceramics . In 2010 , Castillo de la Real Fuerza reopened as a Cuba ’ s premier maritime museum . ( There is also a small naval museum in Cienfuegos . ) The museum contains excellent exhibits of Cuba ’ s maritime past from pre - Columbian days through to the 18th century with the Royal Shipyard of Havana , one of the largest in the world , which built nearly 200 ships for the Spanish Crown . The museum features a huge four - metre model of the Santisima Trinidad located on the main floor with a large interactive touch screen which describes life aboard an 18th - century ship - of - the - line in Spanish , French , and English . The original ship was launched into Havana Bay on 2 March 1769 and was the largest ship in the world in the 18th century , with 140 cannons on four gun decks . She was one of four Cuban - built ships at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 . Downstairs you will also find ancient navigational instruments , underwater archaeological artifacts , and gold and silver from the colonial era . Also note the original weathervane , La Giraldilla , while her replica moves in the breeze on the top of the fortress tower , which also commands a fantastic view of the city . The second level of the museum hosts many other historic and contemporary models of ships with links to Cuba and is also a good location for viewing the harbour and city skyline .