What to see
The monumental, natural and landscape values which are offered by La Mola allow you to enjoy the different places and historical monuments that give you a very complete view of the history of the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century on the island.
FORTRESS ISABEL II
A fortress built to defend Mahon Harbour.
FRONTS 9-10
The maritime defense of Mahon Harbour mouth.
THE MINE
An underground labyrinth of gunpowder magazines, stores and casemate to defend the Queen's gate.
QUEEN'S GATE
A gate honoring Isabel II, this is the most magestic and the best defended area of the fortress .
THE HORNWORKS
This is the first line of defense against a land attack and where the main artillery pieces were placed. The huge size of this area make it suitable for celebrating multitudinous concerts and events.
THE CUTTING
This is the last defending redoubt, in case the Hornworks was taken.
CAPONIER IN THE HORNWORKS
The loopholes and casemates system to defend the Hornworks moat.
MAIN RESERVOIR AND DECANTING POOLS
Along the route it's possible to visit the ingenious water collection systems that provided the fortress with rain water by means of pools, cisterns and wells.
RECESS 5
Recess 5 is one of the small forts of the walled front, its use was to defend the moat against any attempt of intrusion. It's designed isolated from the main fort and cross its fire with Recess 2.
THE MOAT
The moat, with about 1500 linear meters, surrounds the whole defending front and it's protected by loopholes and casemates as well as by the small forts of recess 2 and recess 5.
THE LOOPHOLED GALLERY
This gallery, 390 meters long, is formed by 48 arches that house 48 casemates, in each of which there are two loopholes for riflemen. This defensive front served to defend the moat.
THE PRINCESS TOWER
Incorporated in the fortified area there is the Princess Tower, a watching tower built by the British between 1798 and 1802 in order to defend the north coast of la Mola from a possible assault.
QUEEN'S WATER CISTERN
This cistern is one of the engineering works that provided drinking water to the garrison of La Mola. It collected rainwater by runoff.
MILITARY PRISON
This building, built in 1868 as a grocery store and military administration, in 1948 was converted into a military prison and it was used until 1970.
THE QUARRIES
In La Mola we can observe different quarries in which the stone was extracted manually, to build both the walled front and the different military buildings that are inside. The stone, known as "marès", is calcareous and occupies the entire upper platform of the peninsula.
15 inch VICKERS BATTERY
Made in 1933 and assembled on the highest point of La Mola in 1934, there are two huge naval guns located on the most Easterly point of Minorca and, therefore, of Spain. Its huge firepower and 15 inch caliber, made them two phenomenal weapons able to cover a distance of 35 km.
THE QUEEN'S GUN POWDER STORE
Restored some years ago by the culture Ministry, is one of the most spectacular buildings of the fortress. Preserves all the original wooden floor. The building is surrounded by a large wall that held back any explosion that might have inside the powder magazine, throwing the shock wave up.