Castillo de San Francisco/Castillo del Rey

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, Spain

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Castillo de San Francisco, also called Castillo del Rey, is a 17th-century fortress in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain, built starting in 1601 atop the Risco de San Francisco peak following the 1599 Dutch pirate attack by Pieter van der Does.

Designed with an irregular layout to fit the rocky terrain, it controlled land access to the city via a narrow pass, featured artillery platforms like the Punta de Diamante battery, a moat with drawbridge, and housed soldiers and munitions as Gran Canaria's largest defensive platform spanning 5,750 square meters.

Reformed over centuries, it later served as a military prison before falling into ruin, with recent 2024 conservation efforts including laser scanning, archaeological digs uncovering bullets and coins, and stabilization to preserve this key part of the island's anti-piracy defenses.