Cartagena's most famous meeting up spot, The Torre del Reloj, or Clock Tower, was once the main gateway to the walled city. It was originally called “Boca del Puente adding" Getsemani to the Old City via a drawbridge over a moat.
Construction on the tower begun in 1601, and in 1631 the tower became the principal door to the city as the fortifications around the city were completed.
In 1697 the tower was partially destroyed by the baron of Pointis, and then repaired in 1704, and it was also given a baroque facade and four tuscan arches.
The tower was built with a weapons room and a chapel inside, but these were replaced with a United States pendulum clock in 1874, and 63 years later was updated with a Swiss clock, which still exists today.
In 1888 the restoration was completed at the expense of architect Luis Philip Jaspe Franco, who gave the tower a gothic with eight sides to show four faces of the clock.
