| Ruins of León Viejo * | |
|---|---|
| Country | Nicaragua |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | (iii)(iv) |
| Reference | 613 |
| Region ** | Latin America and the Caribbean |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2000 (24th Session) |
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Location of León Viejo in Nicaragua
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| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List ** Region as classified by UNESCO |
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León Viejo, is the place where the city of León was originally founded in what is now the town of Puerto Momotombo in the Municipality of La Paz Centro of the Department of León, Nicaragua. This city, after a popular consultation, was abandoned to be settled in another location. For this reason it is called "León Viejo" (Old León).
It was founded on June 15, 1524 by the Spanish conqueror, Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, who was decapitated in its Plaza Mayor (Major Plaza) in 1526 by Pedrarias Dávila, his Lieutenant.
This town, in other time inhabited for the first colonists after the discovery, in the beginning had in its suburbs a few 15.000 natural neighbors of the country. It is located on the banks of the Lago de Managua (Lake Managua or Lake Xolotlán), in front of the volcano Momotombo.
The area where León settled is very warm and had a lot of telluric activity caused by the continuous activity of the volcano Momotombo, that signified launch by the air of sand, ash and lava in igneous state, besides violent and persistent tremblings that culminated in the earthquakes of 1594 and 1610, this last one of greater intensity.
The city was not destroyed as commonly is believed. After the violent earthquake of 1610 that damaged it and due to the seismic characteristics of the place, its settlers, as a result of a popular consultation, decided to move the city to the settlement that today occupies, and the old city was gradually buried by the continuous expulsions of ash and volcanic stone and by lake sediments.
The Ruins of León Viejo were discovered in 1967 and one year later the excavations looking for historic vestiges were started. As a result of the excavations, it’s known that the city had a similar sketch to almost all cities of Latin America in that time, in form of an exact square and the plaza is located in its center. The center of León Viejo occupies an approximate area of 800 meters times 500 meters, and in it straighten up, around its Plaza Mayor and on the border of its streets, 16 ruins rehabilitated until now.
The city had three monasteries: "La Merced", "San Pedro" and "San Francisco", they were placed in the main streets of the city and open approximately until 1560. La Merced has been found already in the south extreme of the ruins. Also San Pedro has been identified.
Unfortunately, the ruins have not escaped to natural disasters that have continued damaging it. In May, 1982 the Tropical Storm "Alleta" wasted the walls of the city, in October, 1988 the "Hurricane Joan" occasioned new damages to the ruins, and the more serious, in October, 1998 the "Hurricane Mitch" caused estimated damages in a 40%, by affecting several houses, La Merced convent and La Fortaleza.
León Viejo is the only one colonial city from the century XVI settled in America that never suffered city-planning alterations through the history, being this one the main argument to request to the UNESCO that declared it as World Heritage Site, and it was so by 2000.
Actually, León Viejo is administered by the Instituto Nicaragüense de Cultura (Nicaraguan Institute of Culture) and there are tourist guides.