Budget Travel Philippines | Living Asia Backpacking Guide | Tours Tourism Reviews Pictures: Nuestra Señora del Pilar and Fort Pilar Museum

Nuestra Señora del Pilar and Fort Pilar Museum

With his limited time to explore Asia's Latin City i.e. Zamboanga City, Tutubi set out to visit interesting places the city has to offer. He was able to reach Fort Pilar by walking from Universidad de Zamboanga,past City Hall and Lantaka Hotel to the old stone fort.

the stone walls of Fort Pilar: Manila has Fort Santiago, Cebu and Iloilo both have Fort San Pedro, Cavite City has Fort San Felipe, Romblon with Fort San Andres, Zamboanga City's Fort Pilar as fortification.

inside the stone fort with the old military barracks in view. The place is now a popular events venue for weddings and other cultural occasions.

Entrance of Fort Pilar Museum with colorful sails of the famous Zamboanga vinta

The fort was built in 1635, then known as "Real Fuerza de San Jose" later renamed "Real Fuerza de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza", in response to raids by the Sultans of Mindanao and Jolo, and is now simply called Fort Pilar. It survived Dutch bombardment in 1646 and the British in 1798

History of Fort Pilar written on the NHI marker

Fort Pilar is now a museum (alternating as a venue for weddings, art exhibits, and other events). The museum galleries has on display of the Griffin, a ship that sank off Mindanao in the 18th century (similar to the San Diego galleon's artifacts displayed at the National Museum in Manila), and ethnographic and marine biology exhibit. (No picture taking is allowed inside like most museums' policy without a proper permit. Entrance to the museum, however, is free)

The exterior of the Fort is a shrine to the Nuestra Señora del Pilar (Our Lady of the Pillar), the patroness of Zamboanga (and also of Santa Cruz, Manila, the Diocese of Imus) with fiesta celebrated on October 12.

Image of Our Lady of the Pillar outside Fort Pilar and is a popular Catholic Pilgrimage site in Mindanao

Our Lady of the Pillar, another of the numerous titles of the Blessed Virgin Mary, according to ancient tradition, narrates that in the year 40 in Zaragoza, Spain, Mary appeared to James the Greater on the Ebro River while St. James the Great was preaching. She appeared on a pillar, and the pillar is preserved and venerated within the present Basilica of Nuestra Señora Del Pilar in Zaragoza, Spain. Thus the image is called "La Virgen de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza (Our Lady of the Pillar of Zaragoza).

Fort Pilar Museum Entrance Fee: None

How to get there:

Fort Pilar is walking distance from Zamboanga City Hall, Rizal Park and Zamboanga University. You may hire a tricycle if you don't feel like walking.

Related Posts:
St. Clare Monastery
Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage
Our Lady of Manaoag
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Lipa
Kamay ni Hesus
Visita Iglesia Manila
Visita Iglesia Rizal and Laguna

Fort El Triunfo, Ozamiz City
Fort Pilar, Zamboanga City

Labels: Museums, Pilgrimage Sites, Spanish Forts, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga Peninsula

posted by backpacking philippines @ 9:52 PM,

9 Comments:

At Mar 14, 2008 3:45:00 AM, pieterbie said...: wow, that is one impressive place. Didn't know it was that unsafe.
Good you survived :-)
At Mar 14, 2008 10:07:00 AM, tutubi philippines said...: pieterbie, Zamboanga City lies at the south end of war-torn Mindanao island where US, UK and Australian travel warnings point out as unsafe. I have to admit there are terrorists living near the city particularly in Basilan (the remnants of Abu Sayyaf)
but I find it stupid for the US and UK to issue warnings when there are also lots of terrorists in their own land and attacks there are deadlier, me thinks.

I found zamboanga city brimming with economic activity and peaceful environment, less noise than chaotic manila, and lots of bikes :P
At Mar 14, 2008 11:15:00 AM, orange said...: bilis ng posts mo ha.:)
At Mar 15, 2008 10:20:00 PM, kyels said...: Impressive area. I love the fact that Philippines have so many forts. It's interesting, talaga!

(:
At Mar 15, 2008 10:24:00 PM, Sidney said...: The problem with Mindanao is that you don't really now which places are safe for foreigners. Some people say it safe, then someone else tells you it is unsafe...
So I will first visit all the other parts of the Philippines before I go there.

Nice pictures.
At Mar 15, 2008 10:38:00 PM, tutubi philippines said...: orange, dami back-blog :P

kyels, i think i;m going tovisitmore spanish forts in the future besides my quest for romantic lighthouses. Both are heritage of Spain.No believer in the Black Legend here.

Sidney, zamboanga city is ok...within city limits but not beyond. thereare many police and soldiers there plus Andrews Airbase where Americans participating in the war exercises with the Armed Forces. near the city,howver, is Basilan, Jolo and Tawi-tawi...you know where I'm going, right?
hope someday lasting peace finds its way for us to freely explore the area
At Mar 16, 2008 12:26:00 PM, tin-tin said...: i've seen this once in tv. hope i can travel to that place :)
At Mar 17, 2008 3:04:00 PM, dave (",) said...: It was a lot more peaceful before Al Qaeda established contact with local bandits and messed up the centuries-worth of Christian-Muslim peaceful coexistence in Zamboanga. That's what I hear from a Zamboanga native who is now residing in Metro Manila (the sister-in-law from far Zamboanga who had charmed my brother). I think she meant that there's some low-lying tension nowadays that wasn't present before.
At Mar 26, 2008 7:17:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Zamboanga is indeed a nice place and a safe place too.It just so happened that the place is having a bad impression because of the dateline in news reported in Manila.People think it's in Zamboanga where the "action" took place but actually it's far from the place.I should know because I am from Quezon City but i decided to stay in Zamboanga for good.