Antigua Guatemala
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encyclopedia
Country Guatemala
Department Sacatepéquez
Government
- Mayor
Population Total 34,685 as of last census (2,007)
La Antigua Guatemala (commonly referred to as just Antigua or La Antigua) is
a city in the central highlands of Guatemala famous for its well-preserved
Spanish Mudéjar-influenced. Baroque architecture as well as a number of
spectacular ruins of colonial churches. It has been designated a UNESCO
World Heritage Site.
Antigua Guatemala serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding
municipality of the same name. It also serves as the departmental capital of
Sacatepéquez Department.
Population
The city had a peak population of some 60,000 in the 1770s; the bulk of the
population moved away in the late 18th century. Despite significant
population growth in the late 20th century, the city had only reached half
that number by the 1990s. According to the 2007 census, the city has some
34,685 inhabitants.
Homestead in ruins of a colonial Spanish building; Volcánes de Fuego (left)
and Acatenango visible in distance.
La Antigua Guatemala means the "Old Guatemala" and was the third capital of
Guatemala. The first capital of Guatemala was founded on the site of a
Kakchikel-Maya city, now called Iximche, on July 25, 1524 -the day of Saint
James- and therefore named Ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de
Goathemalan (City of Saint James of the Knights of Guatemala). Naturally, St.
James became the patron saint of the city. After several Cakchiquel
uprisings, the capital was moved to a more suitable site in the Valley of
Almolonga on November 22, 1527, and kept its original name. When this city,
now named Ciudad Vieja, was destroyed on September 11, 1541 by a devastating
mudflow emanating from the Volcán de Agua,[2] the colonial authorities
decided to move once more, this time to the Valley of Panchoy. So, on March
10, 1543 the Spanish conquistadors founded present-day Antigua, and again,
it was named Santiago de los Caballeros. For more than 200 years it served
as the seat of the military governor of the Spanish colony of Guatemala, a
large region that included almost all of present-day Central America and the
southernmost State of Mexico: Chiapas. In 1566 King Felipe II of Spain gave
it the title of"Muy Noble y Muy Leal" ("Very Noble and Very Loyal").
In 1773, a series of earthquakes destroyed much of the town, which led to
the third change in location for the city. The Spanish Crown ordered (1776)
the removal of the capital to a safer location, the Valley of the Shrine,
where Guatemala City, the modern capital of Guatemala, now stands. This new
city did not retain its old name and was christened Nueva Guatemala de la
Asunción (New Guatemala of the Ascension) and its patron saint is Our Lady
of Ascension. The badly damaged city of Santiago de los Caballeros was
ordered abandoned, although not everyone left, and was referred to as la
Antigua Guatemala, or Old Guatemala...
For more information please visit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigua_Guatemala
or
http://www.visitguatemala.com