Corner protectors for carriages

I found theses things all over the old town of Cádiz and was wondering what they are for. I had to do some research but finally found out...

Cádiz is the oldest city in Spain and has profited from the conquistadors' insatiable greed for gold and silver: in 1717 their ships became too big and heavy to make it up the river and Seville had to hand over its overseas trade monopoly to Cádiz.

The Gaditanos were never again as important or as rich as they were then.

Misfortune always came from the sea: pirates plundered and burned, the most famous of which was Francis Drake. Yesterday I took a walk on the remains of the old fortifications. The forts were not useful in every attack: the coveted port city was destroyed several times in new wars, which is why there are hardly any ancient walls left, and most of the old house facades date from the 18th and 19th centuries.

But the observation towers are still standing: merchants had them built on their houses so they could quickly find out who was sailing across the Atlantic. Almost 130 towers are still preserved today, some of which are apartments.

You will also come across the old cannon barrels when walking through the old town. They were cut in half and placed at very narrow intersections: as iron corner protectors in case the carriage couldn't make it around the bend.

So now you know what they are for and you also can see what happens if the corner does not have one.Read more