Castillo de San Gabriel, Lanzarote

San Gabriel Castle is a fortress in Arrecife, the capital of Lanzarote, Spain. It houses the current archaeological and ethnographic museum, owned by the Municipality of Arrecife.

In 1576 the first fortress was built on the islet now called “del Quemado”, which apparently takes its name from the fire that destroyed this wooden structure during a Turkish-Algerian pirate attack in 1586. In 1587 Leonardo Torriani proposed the construction of the current castle on the same site, planning to wall off the entire small island, in the middle of which the fortress is located; raising the parapets, building the interior with stone, in order to avoid future fires.

The connection of this islet with the city took place in the 18th century through the construction of the Puente de Las Bolas, a stacked stone structure finished off with the two balls.4

Since 1972, it has housed an Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum where it is possible to admire archaeological remains from different periods, especially the aboriginal period, with their steles, idols.

The castle was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1979 as a monumental complex that includes the drawbridge and the paths that link it to the coast.