Fort Santo Domingo

Fort Santo Domingo
紅毛城
Tamsui, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Fort Santo Domingo Taiwan
Coordinates	25°10′31″N 121°26′00″E
Type	Fort
Site information
Website	Fort Santo Domingo
Site history
Built	1644
Built by	Spanish East Indies (demolished structure) Dutch East India Company (extant structure)

External images

Aerial photograph of Fort Santo Domingo： The rectangular architecture in the front is the main fortress of Fort Santo Domingo, while the two-storied building behind it is the former British consul's residence.

Taiwan Historical-Site Stamp: Fort Santo Domingo： The 5-dollar stamp produced by the government of Taiwan in 1985.

Taiwanese Commemorative Coins of 2010： The sculpture in the back of 100 dollar is the main architecture of Fort Santo Domingo

Fort Santo Domingo is an old fortress located in Tamsui, a district in New Taipei City, Taiwan. A long time ago, in 1628, the Spanish Empire built a wooden fort there. The fort’s original name in Spanish was el Fuerte de Santo Domingo, which means “the Fort of Saint Dominic.” Later, the Spanish replaced the wooden structure with a stronger stone one. However, around 1637, the Spanish decided to take it apart and leave because they wanted to save money. The Dutch, who were rivals of the Spanish at that time, noticed this and attacked. In 1641, they invaded, and by 1642 they won in a fight called the Second Battle of San Salvador. After winning, the Dutch built a new fort on the same site in 1644 and named it Fort Antonio, after Antonio van Diemen, who was the leader of the Dutch East India Company then. Local people called the Dutch “red-haired people” because of how they looked, and in Taiwanese Hokkien Chinese, the fort got the nickname Âng-mn̂g-siâⁿ, which means “Red-haired Fort.” This name stuck, and even today, many people still call it that.

Fort Antonio is a two story cube-shaped building, measuring 15.25 meters on all four sides while standing 13 meters tall. The deep foundation, thick walls, and mix of stones and bricks provide the fort with strong and effective fortification. Following the Opium War, the British government leased the fort from the Qing government for their consulate. Modifications were made accordingly for consular business. To accommodate the needs of the consul's family, the consular residence was then built on the eastern side of the fort. The Former British Consular Residence, an elegant Victorian-styled house blended with some Chinese elements, was built in 1891 after the British government leased the fort. In 1980, the Taiwanese government retrieved the land from the British, and the site of the residence became the Tamsui Historical Museum in 2005.

Tamsui Church

The original church building, which later became the birth place of the Northern Taiwanese Presbyterian Church, was built by Reverend George Leslie Mackay to serve the church's growing followers, carry out religious services, and give medical care and educational seminars.

The current Tamsui Church building, with pointed pillars, arched windows and strengthened brick work, was designed and supervised by Reverend G.W. Mackay in 1932 after his father, Rev. George Leslie Mackay, passed away.

With these unique Eastern and Western features, the fort and its surrounding buildings have been listed by the Ministry of Culture as one of the 18 potential World Heritage Sites in the country