 Fort San Domingo‚ beside the Tamsui River‚ has witnessed many changes. sourceThis red brick fortress overlooks Tamsui Harbor‚ offers a bird’s eye view of the Tamsui River and faces Guanyin Mountain across the river. It is strategically located in an elevated position. The architectural style is a mix of Dutch and British styles. The fort is one of the oldest Western buildings in Taiwan and is a national historic site. Fort San Domingo[1] was first built by the Spanish in the 1600s but was in a dilapidated state when the Dutch took over Taiwan. The building seen today was built by the Dutch in around 1644. The Dutch used it for military purposes. The British later rented the building and added the British Consulate building. The old British Consulate has a solid red brick exterior. sourceToday Fort San Domingo has two parts‚ the fort and the British Consular Residence. The fort is a two-story vaults building with no interior pillars. The two levels of the arched roof are mutually perpendicular‚ making the structure stronger. The “stone outside brick inside” bricklaying method made the building able to withstand cannon fire. During the time they leased the building‚ the British shipped in timber from Fujian and added battlements[2] and a sentry post[3] on the roof‚ and also added a balcony‚ battlements and embrasures[4] on the south wall to strengthen defenses. The outer wall was originally plaster covered but was painted red as it is today by the British. British Consulate coat of arms. source The four dungeons were used to hold British people who had committed crimes in Taiwan. The British Consulate is a two-story British colonial style building. Its special features are the red bricks‚ the arched covered walkway and its sloping roof. Most of the building materials were sourced in Taiwan; the outer walls are plain brick[5]‚ decorated with exquisite rose and thistle patterns. The sloping roof is covered in red tiles like a traditional South Fujian style building‚ letting water run off easily. The covered walkway’s railings are a mix of Eastern and Western styles‚ the green glaze vase coupled with ceramic art and vase form symbolizing “safe and sound.” The ventilation holes in the foundations have money-patterned stone windows that let in fresh air and also symbolize great wealth.
[1] Santo Domingo: Santo (Saint) Domingo is a Catholic saint. [2] Battlements: a low wall on the city wall that faced outwards‚ with peep holes and firing holes. Most of the battlements on Taiwan’s city walls were built using red brick. [3] Sentry post: used to watch out for danger‚ occasionally a gun hole would be made to strengthen defense. [4] Embrasure: holes through which the enemy could be observed and fired on. [5] Plain brick: it originally referred to a brick that had been washed to clean lime from the surface; in recent years it has been to describe any high quality smooth brick. | 
The Lastest News
News Review
About Us
Digital Taiwan
)
