Chapultepec CastleWe went to see a castle in Mexico City called Chapultepec Castle. Its construction was started in 1765. It changed hands several times before being completed. At one point they tried to sell it for 1/5 what had been spent on it already, but there were no buyers. Eventually it was purchased by Mexico city in 1806. It was abandoned for about 11 years around 1810 and in 1833 was made into a military college.

In 1847 six teenager cadets died defending it the castle from U.S. forces during the Mexican American War. They had been ordered to leave, but stayed anyway. Local legend says that the last cadet died jumping from the top of the castle wrapped in the Mexican flag in order to keep the U.S. from capturing it.

Mural of Cadet JumpingThe cadets are honored with statues and paintings on the castle grounds and throughout Mexico City. There is a large painting of a boy falling through the air with the Mexican flag. In the background you can see a U.S. flag being carried in the attack.Flag Flying on Castle

In 1864 Maximilian, the Mexican Emperor, setup residence in the Castle. During his stay the castle was greatly expanded. After the overthrow of Maximilian it was turned into an observatory for a brief time and then back into a military school as well as the presidential palace. In 1939, a law was passed that turned into a national museum.Castle GardensCastle