Zacatecas, Zacatecas
Zacatecas on the map of Mexico
Zacatecas is the capital of the federal state in central Mexico and has 122 889 inhabitants (as of 2005). She is the most famous and richest cities of the Mexican silver and wore once, similar to Potosí in Bolivia or Cerro de Pasco in Peru, a good part of the Spanish riches of the early modern period with.
History
The history of Zacatecas began in 1546, when the Spanish conquistador Juan de Tolosa rich silver bearing discovered in the territory of the present town. The silver wealth led to a rapid flowering of established shortly thereafter town, and in the second half of the 18th century the number of Zacatecas with more than 20,000 residents of the largest cities in New Spain.
During the Mexican War of Independence, the city initially fell to the rebels, but was occupied as early as February 1811 again by the royalists. Due to the military events occurred first also to years of standstill Silver mining. 1835, placed the population of the city against the Mexican government. Antonio López de Santa Anna (1794-1876) defeated the militia of the city in May 1835 and allowed his victorious army to loot Zacatecas then two days. In the following decades, the town has always been a bone of contention in the civil wars between liberals and conservatives.
Railway construction in the 1880s made Zacatecas an important railway junction, had all vessels in the north and the south of Mexico trains pass the. During the Mexican Revolution, the city was therefore the last bulwark of 1914 already heavily battered regime of Victoriano Huerta ( 1850-1916 ), who had concentrated his troops here to lay the revolutionaries the way to Mexico City. When the revolutionaries Pancho Villa (1878-1923) decided on 23 June 1914, the Battle of Zacatecas in itself, the largest ever battle of the Revolution was not only beaten but also sealed the doom of the Huerta regime.
In 1993 the historical core of the city was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Attractions and Tourism
The city is known for its colonial architecture. The cathedral was built in a lush late Baroque style, which is known as Churriguera style and the end of the 18th century was very popular in Mexico. A popular viewpoint is that of the Cerro de la Bufa, on a cable car and from where you can enjoy the panorama of the city. You can visit also the former mines.
Zacatecas depends mainly on tourism, with most tourists come from Germany. Compared to other Mexican tourist hotspots relatively few foreigners come to the city.
Sons and daughters
- Genaro Codina (1852-1901), composer
- Ernesto Elorduy (1855-1913), composer and pianist
- Francisco Goitia (1882-1960), painter
- Pedro Coronel Arroyo (1923-1985), artist
- Rafael Coronel Arroyo ( born 1932 ), artist
- Nancy Contreras (born 1978 ), track cyclist
- Sergio Santana ( born 1979 ), football player
Twinning
- United States El Paso, USA