Chapultepec
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chapultepec (Chapoltepēc "at the grasshopper hill" in the Nahuatl language) is a large hill on the outskirts of central Mexico City and has been a special place for Mexicans (see History of Mexico) ever since the Aztecs made a temporary home on its central hill after arriving from northern Mexico in the 1200s. In modern Mexico City Chapultepec Park, consisting of the hill and surrounding land of 1,600 acres has many attractions, including Chapultepec Castle, where Emperor Maximilian and Empress Carlota of Mexico lived. The castle's interior is as sumptuous as any palace in Europe and houses the National History Museum.
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[edit] History
Ritual and domestic objects including funerary urns in the Teotihuacan style from about the 4th century have been discovered by archeologists on Chapultepec.
The last Emperor of the Toltecs, Huemac was said to have spent his last days in a cave at Chapultepec after the fall of Tula. In the 13th century, it was settled by the Mexica, until a Tepanec alliance including Culhuacan, Xochimilco, and Azcapotzalco drove them out.
In the days when Tenochtitlán was the island capital of the Aztecs, the city was linked to Chapultepec by a causeway. Aztec chiefs turned the hill and the surrounding forest into a royal retreat. The poet-king Nezahualcóyotl built a palace there in the 1400s, along with an aqueduct to carry spring water to the Aztec capital. A sculpture of Moctezuma I can still be seen (in unfortunately damaged condition) carved into the rock of Chapultepec, not far from Huemac's cave.
Spanish King Carlos V declared the zone a nature reserve in 1537. During the Spanish colonial era, the Viceroys of New Spain had their palace atop Chapultepec, demolishing Pre-Columbian structures in the process. A larger Viceregal castle was constructed on the spot in 1784.
After Mexico won its independence, the old viceregal palace was turned into a military academy in 1833. During the Mexican-American War in 1847, six military cadets, ages 14-20, fought to their deaths against the invading United States Army; One of them, Juan Escutia, wrapped himself in the Mexican flag and jumped to his death rather than be captured. They are today remembered as Mexico's Niños Héroes – the "Boy Heroes" or "Heroic Cadets" (see: Battle of Chapultepec) and are honored with a white marble monument at the entrance to the park.
When Napoleon III launched the French intervention in Mexico and imposed a monarchy in the 1860s, Emperor Maximilian of Mexico and Empress Carlota of Mexico set up their residence in the existing Castillo de Chapultepec atop Chapultepec Hill, expanding the Spanish colonial structure.
[edit] Chapultepec Park Today
The hill of Chapultepec and surrounding land are now Chapultepec Park, a popular spot both for locals and tourists. Chapultepec is at one end of Paseo de la Reforma.
The park covers 1,600 acres (6 km²) of land, centuries old forest, several small lakes, and landscaped areas with out-door cafes. Chapultepec Zoo is located here, as well as an amusement park, La Feria.
Chapultepec Castle atop the hill is the National Museum of History. The park also includes the National Auditorium, lots of other museums, including the Modern Art Museum, the Tamayo Contemporary Art Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Papalote Children's Museum and the large National Museum of Anthropology and History with perhaps the world's finest collection of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican art and artifacts.
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