Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Old San Juan (Spanish: Viejo San Juan) is the oldest settlement within the territory of the United States and it is the historic colonial section of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is one of the two barrios of San Juan as of 1951, before Río Piedras was added to the city (the other being Santurce), and is subdivided into seven sub-barrios:
- Ballajá
- Catedral
- Marina
- Mercado
- Puerta de Tierra
- San Cristóbal
- San Francisco
The slum neighborhood of La Perla is on the rocky north coast, outside of the historic city wall, and belongs to sub-barrios Mercado and San Cristóbal.
Old San Juan is located on a small island connected to the mainland of Puerto Rico by bridges and a causeway.
The city is characterized by its narrow cobblestone streets and colorful buildings which date back to the 16th and 17th century when Puerto Rico was a Spanish possession.
The district is also characterized by numerous public plazas and churches including the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista, which contains the tomb of the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. It also houses the most ancient Catholic school for Elementary education in Puerto Rico, the Colegio de Párvulos, built in 1865. With its abundance of shops, historic places, museums, open air cafés, restaurants, gracious homes, tree-shaded “plazas”, and its old beauty and architectonical peculiarity, “Old San Juan” is a main spot for local and internal tourism. A free Tourist trolley serves the city.
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[edit] Forts
The oldest parts of the district of Old San Juan remain partly enclosed by massive walls. Several defensive structures and notable forts, such as the emblematic Fort San Felipe del Morro, Fort San Cristóbal, and El Palacio de Santa Catalina, also known as La Fortaleza, acted as the primary defenses of the settlement which was subjected to numerous attacks. La Fortaleza continues to serve also as the executive mansion for the Governor of Puerto Rico.
Many of the historic fortifications are part of San Juan National Historic Site.
[edit] History
In 1508, Juan Ponce de León founded the original settlement, Caparra [1] (named after the province Caceres, Spain, birthplace of the then-governor of Spain's Caribbean territories, Nicolas de Ovando). The ruins of Caparra are known as the Pueblo Viejo sector of Guaynabo, behind the almost land-locked harbor just to the west of the present San Juan metropolitan area. In 1509, the settlement was abandoned and moved to a site which was called at the time "Puerto Rico" (meaning "rich port" or "good port"), a name that evoked that of a similar geographical harbor in the island of Gran Canaria, Canary Islands. In 1521, the name "San Juan" was added, and the newer settlement was given its formal name of "San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico", following the usual custom of christening the town with both its formal name and the name which Christopher Columbus had originally given the island, honoring John the Baptist.
Old San Juan along with La Fortaleza were declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1983.[2]
[edit] Photo Gallery
 Blue Cobbled Mercado Street in Old San Juan. |
 Don Pedro – Open-Air Museum (Museo al aire libre) |
 Back portion of La Fortaleza, San Juan's wall and sea-side gates to the city. |
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 San Juan cathedral, built in the 1520s. |
 Quinto Centenario Square |
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Guaynabo -- Encyclopædia Britannica" (with history of Puerto Rico), Encyclopædia Britannica, 2006, Britannica.com webpage: EB-Guaynabo-Puerto-Rico: names: Caparra, the first Spanish settlement of Puerto Rico (1508).
- ^ La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico. UNESCO.
[edit] Bibliography
- (Spanish) San Juan: Historia Illustrada de su desarrollo urbano, 1508-1898 - Aníbal Sepúlveda Rivera. San Juan 1989. Centro de Investigaciones CARIMAR.
- (Spanish) San Juan Extramuros: Iconografia para su estudio - Aníbal Sepúlveda, Jorge Carbonell. San Juan 1990. Centro de Investigaciones CARIMAR / Oficina Estatal de Preservación Histórica.
- (English) A Conservation Master Plan for The World Heritage Site of Old San Juan by Prof. Martin E. Weaver
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- USGS GNIS: El Viejo San Juan. Retrieved on 2008-04-24.
