Fort Santa Cruz is one of the three forts in Oran, the second largest port city in Algeria. The other two forts are Fort de la Mon at the western end of the port, and Fort San Felipe, a replacement for the old fortress of saints known in Spanish as Castillo de los Santos, in central Oran. The three forts are also connected by tunnels. The fortress of Santa Cruz was built between 1577 and 1604 by the Spaniards above the Gulf of Oran in the Mediterranean, at an altitude of more than 400 meters. And in 1831, the French occupied Oran and the fort.