Guanajuato (city)

Guanajuato
Coordinates: 21 ° 1 ′  N , 101 ° 16 ′  W Guanajuato​ Guanajuato on the map of Guanajuato
Location of Guanajuato in Mexico
Basic data
Country	Mexico
State	Guanajuato
Municipio	Guanajuato
City foundation	1546
Residents	184,239  (2015)
City insignia
Detailed data
surface	997 km 2
Population density	185 inhabitants / km 2
height	2045  m
Post Code	36000
prefix	473
Time zone	UTC −6
Website	www.gtocapital.gob.mx
University and Cathedral in Guanajuato

Guanajuato is a city in central Mexico with a population of approximately 184,239. It is the administrative seat of the Municipio Guanajuato and the capital of the state of the same name .

Guanajuato is one of the legendary silver cities in Mexico, which established part of the Spanish wealth in the early modern period . At the beginning of the 19th century it was the third largest city in the western hemisphere after Havana and Mexico City with 65,000 inhabitants . The cityscape is characterized by a lot of architecture from colonial times , as well as narrow and winding streets. The city has been a World Heritage Site since 1988 .

geography

Geographical location

Guanajuato lies at an altitude of about 2000 meters above sea level in a narrow mountain valley. Important neighboring cities are León and Silao in the west, Irapuato in the south , Dolores Hidalgo and San Miguel de Allende in the east .

climate

In summer the temperatures usually rise above 25 ° C, at night it cools down to around 10 to 15 ° C. In winter from November it is often still warm during the day with over 20 ° C, but temperatures around 5 ° C occur at night. The rainy season, when heavy showers can flood the city center, lasts from June to September.

Guanajuato
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.     16   22nd 7th     12   24 8th     8.8   27 10     8.1   29 12     42   31 14th     137   29 15th     180   27 14th     149   27 14th     123   26th 14th     36   26th 12     10   24 9     10   23 8th Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm Source: Servicio Meterológico Nacional

Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Guanajuato Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 22.3 24.1 27.1 29.4 30.6 28.7 26.9 26.8 26.1 25.5 24.2 22.6 O 26.2 Min. Temperature (° C) 6.9 7.9 9.7 12.2 14.0 14.7 14.1 14.1 13.8 11.7 9.0 7.5 O 11.3 Precipitation ( mm ) 16.4 11.9 8.8 8.1 42.4 136.9 179.8 149.4 122.8 35.6 10.4 10.3 Σ 732.8 Rainy days ( d ) 2.8 2.1 1.8 2.7 7.1 12.3 15.7 13.7 10.6 5.0 2.2 2.1 Σ 78.1 Source: Servicio Meterológico Nacional

history

Beginnings as a miners' settlement

Rayas mine

The good agricultural conditions and natural resources in the northern highlands attracted Spanish settlers early on, despite hostile Chichimecs . Cattle breeders may have settled in the Guanajuato Valley as early as 1539. The Taraskan name Guanajuato comes from a river of the same name and means frog hill . The first silver deposit was probably discovered in 1552 by a military patrol, which is why a small garrison was built on Cuarto Hill two years later to secure the road coming from Mexico City. The place was founded in 1546. The founder is Antonio de Mendoza . In 1554 the place was called Real de Minas de Guanajuato .

When parts of the largest mineral deposit, the San Barnabé Vein, were finally discovered in 1557 , a rush of prospectors and workers of indigenous descent began. 1558 went Melado and named after Juan Rayas - Rayas - mine into operation. In 1559, the viceroy Perafán de Rivera installed as juez and superintendente of Guanajuato to settle disputes between local officials over the administrative sovereignty over the mining camp , which consists of scattered mines and ore mills . The community was now called Santa Fe y Real de Minas de Guanajuato . The garrison on the Cuarto Hill served as the administrative seat and was also important for warding off the occasional attacks by the Chichimecs, which took place until they settled down in 1590. 1560–1565 the first church was built as part of the hospital area .

Viceroy Martín Enríquez de Almansa counted around 600 Spanish mine owners in 1570. The following year he founded the city of Celaya in the Bajío , a fertile plain further south , in order to supply Guanajuato with agricultural products. In 1574 he raised the latter to alcaldía mayor , a municipality with its own administration. Around 1600, 4,000 people lived in the settlement. At that time Guanajuato was also an important stopover on the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro .

Basílica Colegiata de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato in Plaza de La Paz

On the one hand, more administrative buildings were built in the following years, on the other hand, silver mining fell due to exhausted deposits, flooded mines, lack of money and the chaotic mining methods, in which large parts of the ore mined were suppressed by the hired graves. In 1639 there were only 85 Spanish landowners left. A kind of town center was not created until the Franciscan convent established in 1663 . In 1671 the construction of a large main church, today's Basílica Colegiata de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato , and a chapel began the following year. In October 1679 Guanajuato initially received provisional city status.

Boom in the 18th century

At the end of the 17th century, 16,000 people lived in Guanajuato and the surrounding area. The opening of the Cata mine in 1724 and the increased extraction of the Rayas mine through the use of gunpowder accelerated urban development to a great extent. The city grew from the three squares Plaza Mayor , today's Plaza de La Paz , San Diego and San Roque . Further schools and hospitals, some of which were founded by Jesuits with financial support from wealthy citizens, as well as churches, properties , but also huts on the mountain slopes were built. An aqueduct system was inaugurated in 1738, and work on a flood dam against flooding began in 1741 when Guanajuato was elevated to a city by King Philip V of Spain .

However, the dam did little to counter a devastating flood on July 27, 1760, when the Belén Hospital was completely washed away. The loss of property and human life, as well as disputes between banks and mine owners over unpaid loans, led to a renewed decline in the mining industry and with it the whole city. In 1766 the monarch tried to counteract this with several reforms . The measures were to be financed through new taxes on food and a royal tobacco and gunpowder monopoly , which led to a storm of the local royal treasury by 6,000 angry miners. The protesters could be appeased by concessions, but a year later there were even bigger riots when the Jesuits were expelled from all Spanish lands in the course of the abolition of their order : a monastery of the order had only been completed 18 months before, and with energetic and voluntary support of many miners who were now offended. The uprising was suppressed, 600 arrests and nine executions were made . To prevent such incidents in the future, a tax-financed militia and a police force were set up, as well as an arsenal and a powder magazine.

The regulatory organs and martial law restricted the uncoordinated mining operations that had been common up to now by independent miners. As a result, the very rich silver ore deposits newly discovered in the Mina de Valenciana around 1769 could be exploited with high efficiency from 1774, which led to a great economic boom. Both the owner, Antonio de Obregón y Alcocer, and the city gained financial independence and growth opportunities through the mine, which employed 3,300 miners. The damage caused by three other floods in 1770, 1772 and 1780 could be repaired without any significant delay in urban development, the Belén Hospital was rebuilt, a theater, as well as other streets, dams and houses were built.

Around 1786 , Guanajuato was struck by a drought-induced famine that claimed 19,000 lives in and around the city. At the same time, the city became the capital of the Intendencia (province), newly founded in the course of the reform policy of the Bourbons on the Spanish throne , which roughly encompassed the area of ​​today's state of Guanajuato, which further promoted the boom despite the famine.

Alhóndiga de Granaditas (center)

At the end of the 18th century, Guanajuato was the world's largest silver producer, accounting for a sixth of the production in the New World. There were 1,800 claims, 116 ore mills and 366 refineries with a total of 9,000 workers. 52,000 people lived in and around the city, which Alexander von Humboldt praised in 1803 for its magnificent and beautiful buildings. The supply of food, but also cotton , textiles and leather products was provided by the Bajío , which grew parallel to the capital of the Intendencia . In order to safely supply the latter with food, a large granary , the Alhóndiga de Granaditas , was built in 1808 .

In the war of independence

The Alhóndiga de Granaditas was to play an important role in the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence as early as 1810 . After the riot began in nearby Dolores on September 16, around 25,000 insurgents led by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla reached the provincial capital on September 27 . The Intendente Juan Antonio de Riaño y Barcena entrenched himself with his troops in the granary, which was stormed by the rebels , whereby the richest city in Mexico was in their hands. Guanajuato and the Alhóndiga became a symbol of Mexican independence, but after the battle the city was sacked and many who were loyal to the king were killed. During the reconquest by monarchists two months later, however, many rebels and sympathizers perished.

Until Mexico's final independence in 1821, Guanajuato faced only one threat from rebels, but the conflict led to a drastic economic slump and a drop in the population to 6,000.

From independence until today

Teatro Juárez (back right) with the Templo de San Diego de Alcalá church (front right)

Mining recovered partially after independence, thanks in particular to foreign investors. The capital city status was also maintained when the Free State of Guanajuato was founded in 1824. A year later, the city and the surrounding area again had 33,000 inhabitants. The construction of another theater, a higher school, a library and the installation of street lighting followed. The political and financial instability of Mexico, as well as a cholera epidemic in 1833, slowed growth.

While Guanajuato remained untouched by the Mexican-American War because of its remote location , it was temporarily the seat of Benito Juárez's liberal government during the Reform War of 1858 and then changed hands eight times. During the French intervention , the city was surrendered to the Conservatives in 1863 without a fight. In the empire , foreign capital and new technologies such as telegraphy ensured a short-term upswing, which was also evident after the reconquest by the troops of Juárez in 1867, especially in the infrastructure. In the first years of the government of Porfirio Díaz after 1876 there was little progress apart from the connection to the railroad, in 1879 56,112 inhabitants were counted in the city and its surroundings.

Another devastating flood in 1885 resulted in further flood protection measures. While Guanajuato benefited from the general prosperity during Díaz's aegis , and the mining industry was spurred on by mechanization and other new technologies, the drop in the price of silver meant that the once proud mining town fell far behind industrial centers such as Guadalajara or Monterrey . Nevertheless, the two-story government palace and the Teatro Juárez were inaugurated in 1903 , as well as the railway connection to Silao in 1908 and the Mercado Hidalgo , a steel market hall, in 1910 .

During the Mexican Revolution , rebels occupied Guanajuato in 1914 and Álvaro Obregón in 1915 , but it was otherwise spared from fighting. In 1945, the Universidad de Guanajuato was finally founded on the site of the old Jesuit buildings in the city center and, as part of an urban modernization program, part of the traffic was relocated to the existing tunnels.

Today, thanks to the historical and architectural heritage, as well as cultural events, tourism is a major source of income.

Panoramic view of Guanajuato from the Pípila statue

Culture and sights

Universidad de Guanajuato

World Heritage status

Since 1988, the historic town of Guanajuato and the surrounding mines World Heritage of UNESCO .

Buildings

A building worth seeing from the middle of the 20th century is the Universidad de Guanajuato . There are also several theaters, the most famous of which is the Teatro Juárez , built between 1872 and 1903 according to plans by Antonio Rivas Mercados . The folk hero El Pípila , who became famous during the struggle for the still well-preserved Alhóndiga de Granaditas, is commemorated by a colossal statue from 1939 on a hill above the city. The neoclassical market hall Mercado Hidalgo, which was actually built as a train station from 1909 to 1910, but was never used as such, is worth seeing. Also of interest is the residential area from the 19th century, at the foot of the historic Pressa de la Olla dam, at the highest point in the valley. This dam was built in 1749 to store water and allowed the Jardín Florencio Antillón and Parque de las Acacias gardens to be built . Important churches are the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato (1696), as well as the Templo de San Diego (1784), Templo de Valenciana (1788), Templo de San Francisco , Templo de Mellado (1752) and Templo de San Roque (1726) . The only 68 cm wide kissing alley (Callejón del Beso) near the Plazuela de los Ángeles is associated with a local legend.

Museo de las Momias (Mummy Museum)

Exhibition in the Mummy Museum

→ Main article : Mummies of Guanajuato

The “Museo de las Momias” is located like the immediately adjacent municipal cemetery ( Panteón Municipal de Santa Paula ) in the Tepetapa district to the west of the center. Over a hundred mummified human bodies are shown. The mummies were found during the expansion of the cemetery from 1865 and are kept here. The mummification itself was unintentional. The dry mineral soil and the semi-arid climate prevented the corpses from decaying. At the time of the find, the right to use the burial chambers of the deceased in the Panteón Municipal had expired. Traditionally, the deceased from all walks of life are buried in a Latin American panteón (columbarium) , so that the mummies found here offer interesting conclusions about the social position and private customs of the dead. This exhibition has been around for more than a hundred years. In particular, it exerts a strong attraction on Mexicans who treat death without taboos, see Dia de los Muertos .

and display information about the image

360 ° panoramic view of the municipal cemetery with the Panteón Municipal de Santa Paula next to the Mummy Museum in Guanajuato

Regular events

The highlight of the year is the Festival Internacional Cervantino , a three-week festival that has been held every October since 1972 and is known as the Ventana Cultural de México (“Mexico's Cultural Window”). More than 2000 artists from the genres of theater, opera, music and dance from all over the world perform here.

Town twinning

Guanajuato lists the following 18 twin cities :

city	country	since	Type
Alcalá de Henares	Madrid, Spain		Twin town
Arequipa	Peru		Twin town
Ashland	Oregon, United States		Twin town
Avignon	Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France	1990	Twin town
Cuenca	Azuay, Ecuador		Twin town
Old Havana	Havana, Cuba	1999	Twin town
Mexico city	Mexico	1996	Twin town
Morelia	Michoacan, Mexico		Twin town
Morgantown	West Virginia, United States	2012	Twin town
Oaxaca	Mexico		Twin town
Puebla	Mexico		Twin town
Quebec	Canada	2002	City friendship
San Miguel de Allende	Guanajuato, Mexico		Twin town
Spoleto	Umbria, Italy		Twin town
Toledo	Spain	1978	Twin town
Umeå	Västerbotten, Sweden		City friendship
Valparaíso	Chile	2002	Twin town
Zacatecas	Mexico		Twin town

Economy and Infrastructure

Companies

With the exception of mining, which is still in operation, Guanajuato has very little industry. Only one Siemens AG plant for the manufacture of power transformers is located at the gates of the city.

education

Guanajuato is a major university location with over 25,000 students from Mexico and around the world. Many temporary language students also come. The city has three universities with the Universidad de Guanajuato , the Universidad de Léon and the Universidad de Santa Fe . A particular research focus is on Miguel de Cervantes , of whom there are several statues in the street scene.

traffic

Underground tunnels for road traffic

A large part of the road traffic is conducted underground, with old river beds and mine shafts being used as tunnels. Even if there were plans to do so, the city was never connected to the rail network. Various private bus lines, which run from a terminal on the outskirts, connect Guanajuato with the surrounding area. The region is served by Del Bajío Airport , which is about 30 km away in the municipality of Silao .

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

• Luis Cabrera Cruz (1893–1967), Catholic bishop
• Santos Degollado (1811–1861), politician and general
• José María Ignacio Montes de Oca y Obregón (1840–1921), Catholic bishop
• Jorge Negrete (1911–1953), folk singer and actor
• Diego Rivera (1886–1957), important painter and husband of Frida Kahlo (1907–1954)

Web links

Commons : Guanajuato  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
• Official website of the Municipio Guanajuato (Spanish)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (2015)
2. ↑ Jaime E. Rodríguez O .: "We Are Now the True Spaniards". Sovereignty, Revolution, Independence, and the Emergence of the Federal Republic of Mexico, 1808-1824 . Stanford University Press, Stanford 2012, ISBN 978-0-8047-8463-4 , Chapter 4, Two Revolutions, pp. 116 (English, limited preview in Google Book search).
3. ↑ ^{a b} Guanajuato - Mexico . Editorial Stampart, Guanajuato (GTO), p. 8, 11 f., 14, 15, 20, 21-24, 37-40, 43, 49 .
4. ^ ^{A b c d} David F. Marley: The Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America (=  Historic Cities of the Americas: An Illustrated Encyclopedia . Volume 1 ). ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara 2005, ISBN 1-57607-027-1 , Guanajuato, pp. 237–247 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search).
5. ↑ History of the Mummy Museum ( Memento of the original from May 28, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ↑ Official website (Spanish)
7. ↑ Programa De Gobierno Municipal De Guanajuato 2012-2015. (PDF) Retrieved June 25, 2017 .