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| Juan de Dios Estrada erected the La Merced cloister in low height to withstand earthquakes based on the experiences of the tremor of 1751. Arches and columns are wider to cope with the quakes. It was opened in 1767 |
We spend a few days in this lovely cobble stone city,
Antigua, while we were applying or waiting for our Guatemala Visa. We found a
great value for money Hotel, Santa Lucia, where we returned to a couple of times. N$180/night.
Antigua or la Antigua is a city in the central highlands of
Guatemala and the starting point for many travellers to many hot spots in Guatemala. It is famous for its well-preserved Spanish Baroque architecture
as well as a number of ruins of colonial churches. It has been
designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city had a peak population of 60,000 in the 1770s. Today the city has 34,685 inhabitants. Antigua
Guatemala was the third capital of
Guatemala. 1543 the Spanish conquistadors founded present-day Antigua, and it
was named Santiago de los Caballeros and served as the military governor of the
Spanish colony of Guatemala. (A large
region that included almost all of Central America and the southernmost State
of Mexico: Chiapas.)
In September 1717, an estimated 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit
Antigua Guatemala, and destroyed over 3,000 buildings. In 1773, the Santa Marta
earthquakes destroyed much of the town. The Spanish Crown ordered (1776) the
removal of the capital to a safer location, the Valley of the Shrine. This new
city was christened Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción. The badly damaged city of
Santiago de los Caballeros was ordered abandoned, although not everyone left,
and was thereafter referred to as la Antigua Guatemala (the Old Guatemala).
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| cobble stone streets with one of the 3 Volcanoes on the back ground |
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| Roman Catholic church was built around 1541, but suffered several earthquakes throughout its history, |
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| The Santa Catalina arch. |
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| a steel craft shop |
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| Casa Santo Domingo, a Hotel build inside ancient ruins. (17th century monastry) |
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| Casa Santo Domingo |
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| Flowers at the entrance of the Hotel. |
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| One of many colourfull shops. |
