Sacatepéquez Department

Sacatepéquez is the smallest department of Guatemala and is in the middle of the country ( region V). It covers 465 square kilometers and has about 250,000 inhabitants. The capital of the department is Antigua Guatemala.

Sacatepéquez bordered to the north and east by the department of Guatemala, Escuintla on the south and west of Chimaltenango.

Provincial nature

Sacatepéquez located in the central highlands at an average of 1,530 meters above sea level. There are three of the highest volcanoes in Guatemala, the Volcán de Agua ( 3,765 m), the Volcán de Fuego ( 3,763 m) and the Volcán Acatenango ( 3,975 m) on the southern border of the department. The climate is temperate, temperatures hover 13 to 25 ° C. Sacatepéquez has extensive forest areas.

Population

A large part of the population speaks Spanish and Cakchiquel. The approximately 250,000 inhabitants of the department of San Marcos live in 16 municipios ( large municipalities or counties ):

The Department as state administrative district is headed by a delegated by the central government governor. The Municipalities are autonomous local authorities with elected mayors and elected assemblies and are divided into Aldeas ( rural communities ) and Caseríos, Parajes or fincas ( hamlets and farms ).

Economy

Traditionally most important economic activities are agriculture, livestock and craft. Main agricultural products are coffee, grains, beans, corn, and ornamental plants. In addition, the cattle and horse breeding plays a role. The products of the numerous small craft businesses include furniture, leather and basketry, traditional ceramics and textiles and jewelery products. Tourism is well developed due to the numerous attractions.

Attractions

One of the main attractions of Guatemala is 45 kilometers away from Guatemala City, Antigua Guatemala, a small town that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. In 1543 it was the successor of a few kilometers south-west to Ciudad Vieja as the capital of Central America. After Antigua was destroyed by a major earthquake in 1773, moved to the capital to Guatemala City. Antigua restored colonial town with its cathedral and the seat of government of the captains-general is one of the most beautiful in Guatemala. Climbers reached via Santa María de Jesús the 3,765 m-high Volcán de Agua, the ancient capital of the 1541 Ciudad Vieja under water and mud buried from Antigua. The two other volcanoes, Fuego and Acatenango, can be reached from Antigua on the road that leads through Ciudad Vieja and Alotenango after Escuintla and on to the Pacific. Between Santa Lucía Milpas Altas and Magdalena Milpas Altas Parque Ecological Florencia, with its pristine forests. Further north you have San Lucas Sacatepéquez from ( Mirador San Lucas) excellent views of Guatemala City. In Jocotenango is a Special Protection Area for a total of 23 species of butterflies. In San Juan Obispo, you can visit the baroque residence of the first bishop of Guatemala, Francisco Marroquín. Marroquín had campaigned for indigenous people and the Colegio Mayor de Santo Tomás founded in 1562, from which today's Universidad San Carlos de Guatemala has emerged.

History

Antigua Guatemala was in colonial times within the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the political center of Central America. The wider surroundings of Antigua Guatemala in 1752 formed a province ( Alcaldía Mayor de Sacatepéquez, in other cases Corregimiento or Gobernación called ). Today's Department of Sacatepéquez was founded after independence from Spain on September 12, 1839.

The name comes from the dialect Sacatepéquez the Pipil Maya and means grass hill. A village founded in 1542 bore this name until it was destroyed on July 29, 1773.