1Guadalupe fort 2 Outer gate 3 Entrance tunnel Was part of the Entrenched Camp in Oiartzun, The only entrance is a path 78 m in length mak- Behind the outer gate is a vaulted tunnel protect- a military stronghold designed in the late 19th ing its way downwards and round two bends until ed by: century which, together with those of Pamplona, coming to the outer gate, situated seven metres • six loopholes (4) manned by the two sets of Jaca and Gerona, had the mission to prevent in- below the start of the path. This made it impossi- guards on either side. vasion from the Pyrenees. The project was can- ble for the enemy to fire at the fort before coming • a moat (2) with a depth of 3.5 m covered by a celled due to technological obsolescence, with round the last bend. moving bridge. only six forts and five batteries being completed, The outer gate (indicating the year 1900, when it among them that of the Calvary, near the fort. • two grenade launchers (3) which made it im- was inaugurated) is defended by four vertical and possible for the enemy to take shelter in the The entrenched camp occupied an extension of two horizontal embrasures. moat. 20 km by 15, with eight forts planned for its tall- Embrasures are slits in the wall through which • a metal grille (5) with two sides (the only origi- est hills: in the vanguard Guadalupe (1900), San rifles can be fired. nal of the three still in place today). Marcial and Erlaitz; in the middle row San Enri- que, Arkale and Beliz, and in the rear-guard San The rifle used by the garrison in its early years • two loopholes and one frontal embrasure (6) which crossed fire with the other arms men- Marcos (1888) and Txoritokieta (1890). was the Spanish 7 mm Mauser model 1893. tioned. The cannon (a machine gun could also Facing the outer gate until the decade of the This is a fort of the polygon type (irregular octa- be installed) could fire 196 projectiles contain- 1940s were two decorative miniature castles gon), with a moat flanked by the artillery and the ing shrapnel canisters so that the tunnel was which can now be found on a staircase behind gun emplacements of three caponiers and two a space completely covered by intense cross- the Hermitage of Guadalupe half-caponiers. Outside it has a covered walkway fire, and therefore extremely difficult for the (parapet) with capacity for 500 soldiers. enemy to penetrate. 4 Moat The moat completely surrounding the fort is Each sector of the moat has a flanking battery composed of eight parts: three short (50-60 m) (known as the caponier) from which shots are and five long (80-129 m), with a total length of fired from the two loopholes manned by riflemen 750 m and a width of between 6 and 8 m. Some together with the shrapnel canisters fired by can- parts of the moat have a slope. The floor is cur- non from an embrasure, meaning that the three rently covered in paving stones which were lain at sectors of the moat were covered by crossfire the end of the 20th century. The original was soil and the remainder only by flanking fire. on which grass would grow. Both the scarp and counterscarp walls have a The moat is limited on the inside by the scarp and cordon whose function, apart from being simply on the outer side by the counterscarp. decorative, is to prevent rainwater from running 40% of the length of the scarp (three sections) down and soaking into the stone of the walls. consists of a wall with embrasures, from where Note how the walls are stained in the places rifles could be fired at an angle in the direction of where the cordon is damaged or fails to fulfil its the moat. function. 5 Caponier 6 Railing 7 Half-caponier (ext.) 1 3 2 1 1 2 The caponiers have two flanks for defending the As well as the other flank of the caponier, we can Unlike the caponier, the half-caponiers only have moat (the half-caponiers only have one). Outside see how the moat takes on a pronounced inclina- a single flank and only defend a single sector of is a smaller ditch in front of the caponiers which tion (this is not the only one it has). the moat. has two functions: to prevent the enemy from be- The west half-caponier has a small door (1) built ing able to shoot into the caponier and to collect Here the scarp is not formed by a wall with loop- into the system for moving the troops defending falling earth and stones etc. which, following an holes, but by a low wall topped with a railing. The the fort from the covered walkway: when the en- enemy artillery attack, could bury the embrasure, one currently in place is not the original, which emy had advanced to the extent that it was no rendering it useless and leaving one sector of the was taken to Pamplona in around 1980. The orig- longer possible to defend the covered walkway, moat without flanking. inal was a cast iron railing (1) taller and stronger than the one in place today, with spikes and sharp the troops would make their down one of the four The ditch, being in a dip, cannot be defended by points (2) which made it difficult to climb. counterscarp staircases into the moat and from the nearby loopholes. That’s why it’s defended there into the heart of the fort through one of the by the grenade launchers (1) and machicola- The intention was initially to install a self-standing three gates with a moving bridge. tions (2). The latter are horizontal loopholes with open-air loopholed wall (“Carnot style”), but the Once the troops had withdrawn from the covered a slanted lower opening to enable firing into the railing was considered more effective against the walkway, a new defence front would be estab- ditch. new exploding shells. lished in the moat. This is when the caponiers The caponier fronts are surrounded by the nar- On one side of the caponier is the door opening and the scarp galleries would come into play. rowest sectors of the moat (6 m) and have a out onto the allure walkway which existed behind In the moat counterscarp we can appreciate number of loopholes for their defence (3). The the railing (now rather difficult to see). Beside the technical use made of the stone: being soft, holes visible at the top (beneath the cordon) are this is a loophole from which to protect the railing sandstone is used to deaden the impact of shells, air vents, given that the shots fired from the in- with rifle fire, thereby stopping enemies who had which is why it is placed in front of the embra- side release harmful gases. made it over the railing from climbing the bank. sure, to prevent ricocheting projectiles from en- tering the caponier. 8 Main door 9 Escarp gallery 10 Half-caponier (int.) The main door is par¬ticularly well fashioned: a The walls of the fort are built in large stone This is a rather small space covered by means of horseshoe-shaped arch is flanked by two cren- blocks, while the spaces limited by the walls are a groin vault. It has loopholes (2) for firing cross elated pilasters supporting an entablature. In the covered by cement vaults. The cement used is and lengthwise towards the moat and the flank- arch keystone is Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron not reinforced (it has no steel bars) and has a ing embrasure (1). saint of the city and from which the fort takes maximum thickness of 2 m, hence its early obso- its name. lescence with the introduction of exploding shells We can also see the mouths of the two gre- (which would blow up inside the concrete) and nade launchers (4), of a machicolation (3) with The stone used is very finely worked, especially the appearance of military air forces in the early its banquette (5) for defending the ditch and air the grey limestone, which contrasts with the yel- 20th century. The posterns or tunnels connecting vents (6). lowish shade of the sandstone. the different sectors of the fort are also vaulted In front of the caponier is one of the fort’s eight- and bomb-proof. Missing from the top part is the coat of arms of een ammunition dumps. These are always placed Alfonso XIII which is currently to be found at the The scarp gallery has loopholes for shooting per- close to the artillery pieces. The fort also has two Loiola barracks, in San Sebastián. pendicular gunfire in the direction of the moat and battery dumps and three ammunition distribution The entranceway is protected by two loopholes gives access to other elements of defence, such stores. as the casemate defending the outer gate tunnel. (4) and a moat (1) with its moving bridge, Near the caponier is one of the doors communi- equipped for its particular defence with a mach- A casemate is a covered space prepared for in- stalling artillery. cating with the moat, facing one of the counter- icolation (3) and four grenade launchers (2). scarp staircases. To surmount the ditch the door The door still has its original grille (5) and, above The gallery structure is similar to the other cov- had a drawbridge, of which a few remains can ered spaces of the fort: vaults of different spans it, the plaque (6) commemorating Juan Roca Es- still be seen today, such as the rails on which it (width) and lengths leaning against half barrel tadés, the military engineer who designed the fort was raised and lowered or the pulleys for moving vaults on one of their sides to enable communi- and directed its work between 1887 and 1900.