St. Thomas Tours: Walking Tour St. Thomas, Historic St. Thomas Tour, Blackbeard's Pirate Tour

History of Blackbeard's Castle
St. Thomas Skytsborg Tower
Skytsborg Tower (meaning sky tower), was built in 1679 by the Danes as a watchtower for the harbor of Charlotte Amalie. It is located at the highest point on Government Hill. Danish Soldiers used Skytsborg as a vantage point to spot enemy ships and protect impressive Fort Christian from attacks.

Fort Christian is at sea level, which was ideal for warding off attackers with canon fire, but did not offer a good enough view of the incoming ships before they entered the harbor. It is not known what year Skytsborg Tower took on the name of Blackbeard's Castle, but the infamous Edward Teach, commonly known as Blackbeard the Pirate, did sail the Caribbean waters in the early 1700s.

It has become part of the lore of the island that he used the Tower as a vantage point for his own treacherous purposes. Blackbeard's Castle is one of four National Historic sites in the US Virgin Islands. It was the centerpiece of a private residence for many years, then became a beautiful small hotel, known as The Inn at Blackbeard's Castle with the tower near the pool, however, the inn is currently closed to overnight guests (2007), but is the base for the historical walking tour.

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Hotel 1829
This dramatic and romantic small hotel was actually built in 1829 by Alexander Lavalette, a wealthy French sea merchant.

It is one of the largest homes in the Kongens Quarter (King's Quarter) of Charlotte Amalie. The dining room has its original floors, hand painted Moroccan glazed tiles laid in a harlequin pattern with terra cotta tiles from Martinique. It has a beautiful stained glass window by Tiffany called "In Search of the Promised Land". There are 300 year old Italian chess pieces large enough to stand guard on each side of the doorway.

The historic kitchen was originally built inside the main house, which was extraordinary for that era. Kitchens were always built in separate structures because of heat and fire danger. Today, the old kitchen is now the popular bar of the hotel. Hotel 1829 is a "U" shaped house with a large courtyard leading to the West Indian "Welcoming Arms" staircase. The stairs flair out at the base as if embracing you while ascend them. The upstairs areas are for hotel guests only. Standing in front of the hotel, you can still see Alexander Lavalette's initials in the wrought iron of the upstairs balcony. The house became a hotel in 1906.

Hotel 1829 has been featured in Travel & Leisure magazine as a "Gem of a hotel".The dramatic and romantic atmosphere lingers from the bygone era. For more information and photos, visit our Hotel 1829 web pages.

Haagensen House
Original home of Danish banker Hans Haagensen and his wife Sarah Julia Magens, it was built in 1827.

Haagensen had been sent to St. Thomas from Copenhagen to help run the official Bank of St. Thomas. His wife Sarah was part of the St. Croix Magens family, related to the Magens that had their plantation on the now famous Magens Bay Beach.

Hans and Sarah raised their nine children in this house. The house was built in the grand Charlotte Amalie town residence style, considered Greek revival because of the pediments above the doors and windows. There were no interior staircases to connect the two floors. The staircase with marble tiles is on the outside of the house. Haagensen House has five period exhibit rooms that are managed by the St.Thomas Historical Trust.

On display are West Indian antiques of the era, giving a sense of how well the merchant class of St. Thomas lived in the prosperous early 1800s.The house sits on the hillside directly above Hotel 1829. The terrace of Haagensen House is frequently used today to celebrate weddings.

See more in our Walking Tour Photos.

 

Villa Notman
This charming stone and yellow brick villa was built by Scottish engineer, Robert Notman in 1860. He came to St. Thomas to help build what is now the West Indian Company Dock. It was home to him, his wife Mary and their daughter Jane.

Villa Notman is one of the sixteen on the island built out of the native stone called "Blue Bitch" (because it is very hard to cleave) and yellow ballast brick used to weight the hulls of ships that traveled from Europe to the West Indies.

The house has an exceptional cast iron double balcony imported from New Orleans. The top floor is now a house museum that showcases four exhibit rooms all filled with period West Indian, European and American antique furniture. This varied collection ties together the points of the triangle trade routes of the era.

The house also features a park-like fragrance garden, planted with Bayrum trees, Plumeria (used in making perfume) and other tropical delights. On the lower floor of the house are The Inn at Blackbeard's Castle Garden Rooms.

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See more in our Walking Tour Photos.

The historic homes and Blackbeard's Castle shown on this page are featured in the Walking Tour of St. Thomas, beginning at Blackbeard's Castle in Charlotte Amalie.

For more information about the historic walking tour of St. Thomas, call the Tour Director at Blackbeard's Castle 340-776-1234 or email hh1827@viaccess.net Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI