Castle San Sebastian de la Cruz
Description: Situated in a sheltered cove on the southern side of the bay, the town of Corral is 20 minutes by boat from Niebla. Ferries to Corral leave from Niebla’s passenger dock regularly and cost $800 CLP (USD 1.20) per person each way. Life preservers are provided. Some of the ferries stop at nearby Isla Mancera ─ Mancera Island, which is another possible destination if you’re interested in seeing all the forts in the area.
The Castle is located on the coast of Corral Bay, 11 nautical miles from Schuster Dock in Valdivia; that is, about one and a 
half hour of navigation. It was declared historic monument by Supreme Decree 3869 of 14 June 1950. This castle is one of the seventeen Spanish fortresses that were built in the area of Valdivia from the seventeenth century onwards, making up the defense system of Valdivia.
Among Galleons and Cannons
The castle began to be build as a Battery in 1645 by orders of Sebastián de Toledo and Leiva to defend the backwater of the harbor, the final plans to build the fort were developed by Juan Cermeño, who in 1755 commissioned John Garland, an Irish engineer at the service of the Spanish crown. This castle was composed of three elements built at different times and assembled as a whole in 1767, which were the Castle San Sebastian de la Cruz in the south part of the bay, the Batería de la Argolla from 1764 and located slightly further north, and the Cortina built in 1767 and consisting of a large wall that allowed joining all elements together to turn the Castle of Corral into the most powerful of the bay. Its pit, 40 m wide and 8 m deep, housed the stone barracks for up to 200 soldiers. One of the advancements of those days were little ovens installed a small distance from the cannons, the hot shot furnaces. These were intended to heat the balls to the point of redness, a curious but highly effective technique against the wooden boats of those years; this is how it came to be named the red cannon ball. The cannonballs were heated red before firing them at the enemy. Thus, the artillery of this fort consisted of 21 24-caliber cannons mounted on its walls, all equipped with red cannonballs. The Corral Fort boasts an impressive collection of old cannons.
Re-enactment
Dotted around the picturesque Corral Bay, these former strongholds have several interesting stories to go with their excellent views. Here, we will take a look at Corral; back in the 17th and 18th centuries, Valdivia was an important supply city for the Spanish ships that sailed through the Strait of Magellan, heading north along the Chilean coast to plunder the riches of Peru.
To protect themselves from the Dutch, British and French navies, as well as marauding pirates, the Spaniards constructed a series of 10 forts and cannon posts around the Corral Bay (Bahía de Corral) about 10 miles east of the city.
Today, the remains of several of the forts are open to the public, giving visitors a firsthand insight into one of the most colorful stages of Chile’s colonial history.
You can walk up the steep hills to Corral’s fort, which is run by the regional government. Here, you are free to wander around the grounds, looking out over the old cannons and trying to imagine what life would have been like for these Spanish colonists all those centuries ago. But, if you are on a visit in the summer you may have a chance to see that by yourself. In the summer, this fortification is the only in the country to regularly perform daily re-enactments of a major episode in Valdivia’s history and of wh
at life was like for the Spanish soldiers back in the 1800s, complete with period costumes and firing
cannons, where you can see and learn national history live. During the Chilean Independence War, Corral and Valdivia functioned together with Chiloé as prominent royalist strongholds. The revival recreates the events ocurring on February 3rd and 4th, 1820, where Chile defeated Spain when Thomas Cochrane, commanding the newly created Chilean Navy, took the castle of Corral by an amphibious attack. This historical representation of the various facts that occurred inside these ancient walls lasts 30 minutes; visitors have the opportunity to appreciate 30 young men dressed and armed exactly the same as back then, both as Spanish soldiers from the Cantabria regiment and as Chilean soldiers, fighting in a bloody confrontation in the castle of Corral.
The settlement of Corral grew out from the headquarters of the forts of Corral Bay that were built in 1645 to protect the city of Valdivia, it was also the entrance harbor of the German immigrants during the nineteenth century.
Besides the above, in Corral you can appreciate the views from the fort, which speak for themselves of the beauty surrounding you. Today, five hundred years later, these walls continue erect on the shores of the Pacific, and are a silent witness of a glorious past that demands an immortal destiny for Valdivia. Destiny which may be unveiled as you go along its corridors, touch its façades, and listen to the history within them, now turned into outdoor museums.
Address: Esmeralda St., Corral.
Arrival: Ferries to Corral leave from Niebla’s passenger dock regularly and cost $800 CLP (US$ 1.20) per person each way.
Admission: The admission to the fort is $800 CLP (US$ 1.50). The admission ticket for the re-enactment is 1500 CLP (USD 2.25) with price variations depending on the exchange rate.
Opening Times: Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 17:00 h. Re-enactment: The revival can be seen every day from December 15 to March 15.
Contact: Tourism Office turcorral@surnet.cl. Phone: +56 - 63 - 2 471 824
Activities: Walk, photography, river cruises, visit to historical site.