Gallery Antigua Guatemala
La Antigua Guatemala
It is located 45 kms from Guatemala city. It was the third capital established by the Spaniards. It was named city of Santiago of the Knights of Guatemala in 1566. After plagues, earthquakes and floods, the telluric movement of 1773 ended up destroying it definitively.
Despite having been a outlawed and abandoned city to create a new capital, gradually its inhabitants returned to give life and today is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Guatemala.
It is a jewel of urbanism and colonial architecture, which retains its characteristics, as if in them time had stopped. Due to its immense historical and cultural value, it was declared “World Heritage Site” by UNESCO in 1979.
In the heart of the city, is located the main square within this traditional grilled path so used in the Spanish urban development in the time of the colony. The central square is surrounded by different monuments such as: The Palace of the general captains, the town hall, the church of San José formerly the Cathedral of Guatemala, the archiepiscopal Palace and the Commerce Portal.
In the center of the square, you will find the iconic fountain of the Sirens. The Earl of La Gomera, built it in memory of the popular legend about a king whose daughters gave birth and did not want to breastfeed their little children, so he sent to be tied to a stick in the middle of a water eye , where they died of thirst and starvation. In the fountain, the four sirens hold their breasts in their hands, which provided water to the city. It was built in 1739 by Diego de Porres and has been constituted in one of the symbols that identify the old colonial city.
