Considered the oldest colonial city in Latin America, built on land and one of the best preserved. It was coveted booty by European pirates who sacked and burned it, as did the American filibuster William Walker. Pride of the Spanish Crown in America, its main attraction is the Colonial, Neoclassical and Baroque Architecture visible in houses, streets, squares, monuments and churches. It is known as the Great Sultana because it is at the foot of the Mombacho Volcano, formerly nicknamed the Great Sultan, named by UNESCO as Historical and Cultural Heritage of Nicaragua on June 2, 1995.
To learn more about its history, it is essential to visit the churches and admire the architectural details. These temples, which were sometimes barracks or fortresses, were burned and rebuilt over several centuries, such as the Cathedral, Xalteva, the Church of Guadalupe and the Old San Francisco Convent, which now houses the city's most important museum with a permanent exhibition of pre-Columbian statues and representations of its traditions and culture.
In this city that was the capital of Nicaragua for periods, you must not forget to try the famous Vigorón from Granada, accompanied by a chingue of cocoa or fresh grass, the guapote in pinol from the islets and other typical sweets.
Train station
Construction began in 1882 and was completed in 1886. The building is different from other stations in the country due to its outstanding architectural design, harmony of openings and volume. The building represents an important landmark in the city. On March 1886, XNUMX, the railway arrived at the station for the first time.
The Old Railway Station complex is made up of the old station building, its surroundings, Sandino Park, and its surrounding streets. For many years it was the city's boundary, until the 1960s. Inside this building is the Presidential Car called Momotombo and some real estate that still remained in the Managua station with the aim of safeguarding an important part of the country's historical heritage.
Plaza of Independence
The Plaza Independencia is the generating element, from which the two main axes of the city depart: Calle Real and Calle La Calzada up to the vicinity of Lake Nicaragua. It emerged after the explosion of the Main Headquarters, which disappeared on September 26, 1894. During the First Centenary of the Independence of Central America in 1921, an obelisk was placed on a masonry pedestal commemorating that date. The names of the Granada heroes of that process are engraved on this monument, including Juan Arguello and Manuel Antonio de la Cerda. Its urban environment is defined mainly by the Cathedral, the Episcopal Palace and the Parque Colón, followed by a series of neoclassical and eclectic constructions. On the south side of the Plaza is the Cruz del Siglo. The entire location of the Plaza contrasts with the Plazoleta de los Leones.
Episcopal palace
It is located to the southeast on the corner formed by Calle La Calzada and Plaza de la Independencia and to the north on Calle de La Libertad. Its arcades of North American colonial influence continue through the row of similar houses on its facade to the north and contrast with the Spanish colonial style of the houses located to the west of the Plazoleta de los Leones.
It was built in 1913 under the patronage of the Cardenal family and donated to the Bishop of the city in 1920 to become his residence. It has gardens on its porch, which is another element that distinguishes it from the neighbouring buildings.
The main characteristic element of the building is the presence of the arcades that extend around the entire perimeter of the façade.
Granada Cemetery
The Granada cemetery dates back to 1830 and is one of the largest and most important in all of Central America. It is located between Las Camelias Street and the road to Nandaime. Famous for its beautiful sculptures and the illustrious figures who rest there, it stands out above all for being the resting place of more than 10 former presidents and heads of state, as well as of great figures in the political and cultural life of Nicaragua and the city of Granada itself.
This cemetery was declared a National Historical and Artistic Heritage Site by the National Assembly on October 30, 2012.
Chapel of Souls
The Chapel of the Souls is located in the Granada Cemetery between Las Camelias Street and the road to Nandaime. In 1878, the American Teodoro E. Hooke began a campaign to provide the Granada cemetery with a chapel. In 1885, the walls were up, with only the roof missing. It was built under the direction of the Master Builder, Carlos Ferrey.
The Local Charity Board was in charge of finishing the works, which were completed in 1922. Its architecture is in the neoclassical style. Its main façade is framed by four fluted Ionic columns on a raised atrium and is surrounded by a wide pediment, which has mouldings and decorations.
The former Gunpowder Fortress
This fort is located in front of the Arroyo de la Aduana and the Callejón La Pólvora. Its qualification as a landmark corresponds not only to its importance as a reference point but also to its privileged location. There are two well-defined styles: a clearly colonial architecture that can be seen in the construction of the Casa de la Pólvora and the style corresponding to that of the “fortress”.
In 1748, the Military Engineer Luis Diez de Navarro, assessed the need to outline a fortress in Granada. The main problems in the fort's facilities were due to the minimal possibility of preserving gunpowder, due to the humidity. The city lacked the appropriate facilities to store this material, essential for the city's defence. Thus, the construction of the Gunpowder Storehouse, the official name of this fort, was ordered. Its function was to supply ammunition to the Castillo La Inmaculada in Río San Juan, the main bastion of the province.
Cathedral Church of the Immaculate Conception of Mary
On November 22, 1856, several filibusters led by William Walker detonated a charge of dynamite in one of the towers, setting it on fire, as well as seven other churches in Granada. In 1860, where the Cathedral is now, there was a large house that served as a temple. On December 8, Father José Antonio Castillo laid the first stone.
In 1891 the activities were suspended due to lack of funds. In 1905, when construction resumed, a review of the plans drawn up in 1860 was carried out, serious construction deficiencies were noted, so it was decided to demolish the walls erected until 1891. The building consists of four chapels: the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, which has a stone altar and contrasts with the rest of the church; the Chapel of our Lady of Perpetual Help, which has the same characteristics as the previous one but without the stone additions; the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament has access through the north side of the church; the Chapel of the Sacristy communicates with the main wing through the Chapel of Perpetual Help.
Xalteva Church
This temple was built during the colonial period and due to its location it was originally intended as a military fortress. The Spanish, in their desire to associate with the Indians of the town of Xalteva, made the temple a mixture of religion, surveillance and commerce. The temple preserves a very varied decoration and an interesting mix of styles from Mudejar to neoclassical. It is adorned with sculptures of the evangelists and the monogram of Jesus Christ. These statues were made by the Granadan sculptor Jorge Navas Cordonero, who was the great sculptor of the Cathedral of León.
The Xalteva church is a 17th century work and was rebuilt on the inside and façade after the civil wars. The temple was built in homage to the Virgin of the Assumption, who the Jesuits placed on the highest part of the main altar. It is a combination of love for Jesus Christ and devotion to the Virgin Mary.
La Merced Church
This temple began to be built around 1740, on the site of the simple temple that existed previously. In 1781 the construction of the tower was started by the Mercedarians, and was completed on 23 January 1783. By 1853, the Church of La Merced was considered one of the most striking buildings in Granada.
In the temple tower we find that it has on the second body the shield of the Mercedarian order, framed by a rod of corozo carved in earth, two windows of Antigüeña influence and another circular window. The third body of the tower shows the doorway of the bell tower, its decoration is based on stucco skirts that simulate hanging from the cornice.
This is a 16th century church, its temple has three chapels: Sacred Heart of Jesus, Dolores and Fatima.
Guadalupe Church
In 1626, Friar Benito Baltodano founded the chapel and cloister of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In 1856, Walker's filibuster troops entrenched themselves in the church in a siege that lasted 18 days, leaving destructive effects on the religious building. Later in 1945, the façade was remodeled, resulting in its current appearance.
In 1954, the apse and the dome that rests on the presbytery were added. From 1954 to 1965, the walls and vaults of the side nave and the sacristy were rebuilt. The front of the church was enlarged with so many modifications, giving rise to the construction of the two towers, which in turn have two buttresses at their ends.
The presbytery, the most important space in the church, is framed by the triumphal arch. The dome that crowns the presbytery is conical, with a series of oval windows made of aluminium and glass that give light to the main altar.
san francisco Church
Located to the east of the city, the church is part of the former convent of San Francisco, which occupies a complete block. Its perimeter is completely uniform except for the west side, where a porticoed gallery can be seen and the width of the street extends the space like a plaza. Both the church and the convent were damaged by the fire of 1856, ordered by William Walker, as well as by the battles that took place in them to evict the filibusters.
The church was rebuilt with a different façade after the fire, on a staircase that still exists. The side bell gable must correspond to the previous building. The façade is neoclassical, its internal space is Romanesque. On the façade there are octagonal windows in the style of Antigüeño and moulded elliptical windows. The front presents a mixture of baroque and neoclassical; the battlements that adorn its façade are Mudejar, among other relevant elements of different styles.
Sister Maria Romero Birthplace
The birthplace of the Nicaraguan nun Sister María Romero (Granada 1902- León 1977), beatified in 2002 by Pope John Paul II for her humanitarian work and the miracles attributed to her by various people, has been converted into a museum and sanctuary that can be visited.
The house, in colonial style, was restored by the Salesian Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (the order to which it belonged), who currently manage the museum.
At Calzada
La Calzada is considered one of the oldest arteries in the city. This road has historically linked the city's founding area (Parque Colón) with Lake Cocibolca and the pier. Initially, it functioned as a double lane separated as a boulevard where the public lights were located. The road surface was paved with asphalt and the sidewalks with cement tiles.
Tourist activity in the city has increased in recent years, mainly on this street where lodgings, cafes, restaurants and other tourist services have sprung up. Initially, the revitalization project of the urban sector La Calzada included from the central park to the Guadalupe church, and currently extends to El Malecón. The project was divided into three stages that began in 2005 and concluded in 2015, rehabilitating Plaza España, El Parque Azul and El Malecón de Granada.
San Francisco Convent Museum Cultural Center
Together with the church of the same name, it forms a monumental complex that occupies an entire block. Construction work on the temple and convent began in June 1585. It was damaged in 1856 by the fighting that took place there to dislodge Walker's troops, as well as by the fire he ordered before leaving the city.
The Convent of San Francisco presents the common layout of these religious buildings. In its Banquet It is said that the defender of the Indians, Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, preached here. It was a barracks and hospital in the times of William Walker, the American filibuster, and a barracks for the United States Marine Corps during the interventions of 1912 and 1927. Today, it is a cultural center and museum in which are exhibited archaeological objects from Granada and its surroundings, primitive paintings and popular imagery.
Hall of Idols
The Zapatera Statuary Collection is made up of more than thirty sculptures made by the Chorotegas, one of the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica, settled on Zapatera Island, located in the Great Lake of Nicaragua. They had remained on the island for centuries, until they were discovered in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1849 they were found by the American diplomat Ephraim George Squier (1821-1881), who, interested in archaeology, visited the island.
In 1882-83, Swedish researcher Carl Bovallius conducted archaeological studies at the same sites visited by Squier, finding statues, pottery, burials and more; Bovallius published a book on these findings. Bovallius believed that some of the statues he discovered were part of an indigenous temple. Originally, six were placed around an oval mound, about 50 m long and 30 m wide, and he made a model of the temple's reconstruction.
Xalteva Park
It is located along Calle Real, occupying the sector opposite the Xalteva Church. It is bordered on the south side by the historic walls of Xalteva. Xalteva Park was completed on November 9, 1892. It has maintained the arrangement of its ornamental elements over time, presenting periods of abandonment.
Its style is the result of the changes made to colonial parade grounds, through figurative and ornamental elements and neoclassical references. Xalteva Park presents this trend where commemorative elements, columns, weights and pedestals with a neoclassical formal definition can be observed, but complemented with additions and finishes where work on stone and varied textures are present in the different spatial elements of the Park.
Columbus Park
Around 1880, there was talk of building a central park to replace the old market that occupied the area around the main square of the city. The formation and decoration of the central park was a municipal task for many years, having been inaugurated in 1892. In 1880, a monumental fountain was ordered to be built in England, and was placed on the site it currently occupies. Around 1888, a mango tree avenue was planted. In 1891, expenditure was authorized for the construction of four fountains on the respective corners and the delimitation of a platform around the park.
In 1892, coinciding with the date of October 12, it was officially inaugurated and baptized with the name of Columbus. It originally had a layout of water mirrors in its corners that defined axes coinciding with a central fountain with extensive sculptural work. The central fountain was complemented by a music kiosk, where eclectic styles are still maintained. In the Park there are as relevant monuments an obelisk dedicated to Rubén Darío and one dedicated to the Mother.
Sandino Park
According to the Railway Bulletin of December 1936, in that year, Somoza began to build said park, which was called General Somoza Park of Granada, then Sandino in honor of the General of Free Men and Women.
Beginning in 2000, the project called Revitalization of the Old Granada Railway Station Complex was expanded to include Sandino Park.
Granada Tourist Center
The tourist centre of Granada, located on the shores of Lake Nicaragua, was built in 1985. The government in the period 1984-1990, began to think about creating a tourist infrastructure to further diversify the offer, as was the case with the Granada Tourist Centre, bringing with it an idea not only for Granada but also contemporary technical, scientific and artistic achievements.
Mombacho volcano
The Mombacho Natural Reserve, declared a Natural Reserve by Decree 1320 of 08/08/83, has an area of 2487 hectares and great potential for recreation and research. The forest on the summit of the Mombacho volcano is one of the last remaining pockets of virgin vegetation in the Pacific region of Nicaragua, which is why it is maintained as a biological reserve for its great scientific value.
Fort San Pablo
The San Pablo fort is located on one of the islets of the archipelago that borders the Asese peninsula of Lake Nicaragua. It is a small construction whose construction dates back to 1670 and 1685. The construction was justified due to the need of the colonial city to face pirate attacks, common in the mid-XNUMXth century.
It was rebuilt in 1974 by the architect Lorenzo Guerrero and inaugurated on December 3 of that year with the auspices of the Central Bank of Nicaragua. In terms of construction, the form used for the construction of the walls of the San Pablo fort is very similar to that used in the walls of Xalteva and in the Convent of San Francisco. The access ramp is made of a stone paving similar to the rigging that exists in what was the Gunpowder Warehouse. The construction is cemented on the volcanic mass of the place.
Zapatera Island
Located 20 km south of the city, it is the second largest lake with 52 km², in the shape of a rectangle. It contains the Zapatera Archipelago National Park of volcanic origin, notable for its abundance of pre-Columbian rock art and for its flora and fauna.
The idols discovered in Zapatera are carved in black basalt (a very hard volcanic stone). Zapatera is the owner of a variety of idols of great beauty, such as:
- Punta Zapote or Punta La Ceiba: Stone idols and pottery pieces
- Punta de las Figuras or Punta Rua: In addition to fragments of idols, fragments of pots.
- La Ceiba Island or El Muerto Island: Petroglyphs and relics of pottery and stones.
Zapatera Island is accessible only by water from Casa de Tejas and Puerto Asese. It is believed to have been an important center of Chorotega culture.
Dead Island
Separated by a 1 km wide canal, with fifteen to twenty square blocks of extension, it is the richest centre of rock art in the Zapatera archipelago. A pre-Columbian sanctuary containing an enormous variety of statuary and ceramics, with an area of approximately 50 km, it was named after the fact because it is an aboriginal cemetery and because of the human figures that its archaeological elements offer and the funeral ceremonies that must have been staged in ancient times.
