Guardiamarinas School

Located in Cartagena, this school used to be a military academy where cadets studied to become Spanish Armada officers. This neo-classical building, erected on the Carlos III walls between 1789 and 1819, was designed by four architects, one of them being Juan de Villanueva, from Madrid. In 1824, Guardiamarinas was one of the schools closed down after cadet training was centralized in isla de León (Cádiz) first and then in Marín (Pontevedra) during the dictatorship of Franco. The building was later used as the regional marine service headquarters before it was given its current use: General Service Center.