San Carlos Barracks

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Military architecture · Year: 1850-1875

The origin of this building must be sought in the Hospicio de San Carlos, an institution founded by the Marquis of Branciforte at the end of the 18th century as a home for the elderly and disabled. Due to lack of funds, the establishment had to close at the beginning of the 19th century and it was then that the City Council rented it to the General Command as a barracks.

It was the military administration that shaped the building as we know it today. The work was approved in January 1848, with construction beginning two years later, but the pace was always slow, extending until 1875.

It is a building, of which today only the front bay remains, of classicist-romantic appearance, with a wide façade featuring a rusticated lower section, topped by a parapet where the building's name and year of construction are displayed.

Today this building is owned by the Government of the Canary Islands.

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