Guatemala City
Guatemala City on the map of Guatemala
Guatemala City (Spanish Ciudad de Guatemala, officially La Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción ) is the capital of the Central American country of Guatemala.
History
The earliest settlement by the Maya was more than 2000 years ago. The ruins of this settlement ( Kaminaljuyu ) can be seen in a park in the city center today. During the Spanish colonial period, was established here since 1620 to a monastery (El Carmen ) a small town. After the old capital of Antigua Guatemala fell victim to an earthquake on 26 July 1773 was founded on September 27, 1775 Guatemala City as the new capital of the Spanish colonial territory in Central America.
From 1823 to the relocation of the government to San Salvador 1834, Guatemala City, the capital in 1840 reconstituted the Central American Confederation. The political turmoil of the time prevented a further expansion of the city, which also had to contend with Quetzaltenango for supremacy in the country.
End of the 19th century coined classical architecture, the city, which then had only about 70,000 inhabitants. 1917, 1918 and especially 1976 earthquake destroyed much of the city. After the earthquake of 1976 countless refugees from other departments came to the capital, which experienced a population explosion in the course of their modern reconstruction, with also included the surrounding Municipalities.
Population
Today, Guatemala City has about one million inhabitants, making it the largest city in the country. The agglomeration, which is often mistakenly equated with Guatemala City, includes Mixco, Villanueva and some other places that have developed in the last decades of smaller villages to cities and have grown together with Guatemala City de facto. In this metropolitan area has a population, according to official figures, about 2.5 million people, in the department of about 3 million. Unofficial estimates put the 5 million, since many people are not registered or in other departments or temporarily live in the agglomeration of Guatemala City.
Attractions
- Museo Ixchell ( Indian textiles)
- Museo Nacional de Arte Moderno " Carlos Mérida ", Museum of Modern Art
- Museo Popol Vuh ( pre-Columbian art )
- Kaminaljuyu ( pre-Columbian Mayan ruins)
- Torre del Reformador
Universities
- University of San Carlos de Guatemala
- University Rafael Landívar
- University Francisco Marroquin
- University of Mariano Galvez
- University Del Valle de Guatemala
- University of Galileo
In Guatemala City is one of the five Austrian schools abroad. The degree entitles addition to studying at a university in Guatemala also to study at an Austrian university. In an evaluation in 1999 it was classified as the best school in the country.
Sports
No.1 popular sport is football. The people at the most popular clubs are CD Municipal ( " Los Rojos " ) and CSD Comunicaciones ( " Las Cremas "). Home games of the Rojos, see the National Stadium " Mateo Flores " in the Zona 1 instead, the home games of the Cremas further outside the Estadio " Cementos Progresso ". In City Derby - so-called Classico - between two clubs five-digit numbers of visitors are always recorded. Due to the great rivalry occurs in the city derby next great atmosphere, often serious riots. The third biggest club in the city of Aurora is home to FC at the Estadio Ejercito.
Economy and infrastructure
The airport Guatemala City, since its renovation completed in 2007 as the most modern commercial airport in Central America.
Disasters
In February 2007, a big hole in the ground in the northeast of Guatemala City opened (14 ° 39 '2 " N, 90 ° 29' 27" W14.650451 - 90.490876 ), which killed three people. The hole was 60 m deep and had a diameter of 30 m. After that 1,000 people were resettled.
Another hole was created in May 2010 after the tropical storm Agatha, swallowing a three-story building. (14 ° 39 '7 "N, 90 ° 30' 21" W14.652019 - 90.505918 )
It is not yet clear whether they are sinkholes, called cenotes in this region than as consequences of karstic or pseudo- karst. Also, the possible influences of the urban drainage system are investigated.
Air table
Sons and daughters of the town
- Antonio José de Irisarri (1786-1868), first Director Supremo of Chile ( 1814)
- José Escolastico Andrino (1817-1862), composer, violinist and music writer
- Jorge Ubico Castañeda (1878-1946), Guatemalan president and dictator of 1931-1944
- Rafael Yela Günther (1888-1942), sculptor and painter
- Carlos Mérida (1891-1984), Guatemalan - Mexican painter and lithographer
- Miguel Ángel Asturias (1899-1974), writer, diplomat, Nobel Prize for Literature
- Alfred Jensen (1903-1981), American painter
- Emilio Arenales Catalán (1922-1969), Guatemalan politician
- Juan José Gerardi Conedera (1922-1998), Roman Catholic bishop
- Rodolfo Quezada Toruño (1932-2012), Archbishop of Guatemala and Cardinal
- Joaquín Orellana ( b. 1937 ), composer
- Óscar Berger Perdomo ( born 1946 ), Guatemalan politician and President of Guatemala
- Ted Hendricks ( born 1947 ), U.S. American football player
- Álvaro Colom Caballeros ( born 1951 ), politician and president of Guatemala gualtemaltekischer
- Carlos Batres ( b. 1968 ), football referee
- Carlos Humberto Ruiz Gutiérrez ( born 1979 ), football player
- Gaby Moreno ( born 1981 ), singer, songwriter and guitarist
- Marco Pappa (* 1987), football player
Twinning
- United States Hollywood, USA
- Bolivia La Paz, Bolivia
- Mexico Mexico City, Mexico
- Puerto Rico San Juan, Puerto Rico
- El Salvador San Salvador, El Salvador
- Spain Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
- China Republic Taipei, Taiwan
- Peru Trujillo, Peru
Others
- List of Archbishops of Guatemala