Categral de Granada, in the background Mombacho volcano
For those seeking authenticity and architectural charm, the city of Granada is a colorful and rhythmic spectacle.
In the historic center all the details stand out, so it is advisable to walk calmly and be dazzled by its historical buildings that make up the most singular and unique architectural ensemble in the country.
Among the buildings that you can know and that will transport you to a historical past you must visit:
Granada Cathedral: With its imposing white columns in the Ionic style, it is one of the most prominent buildings in the city.
The first temple was built with temporary materials in 1525, by 1578 this church had been burned twice. The second temple was built in the first half of the seventeenth century. In 1525 it was named a parish, in 1856 it was dynamited and burned, like seven other churches in Granada, by filibusters under the command of William Walker.
Construction work on the current cathedral began in 1880, and it was completed in its entirety in 1972 with an area of 3,614.87 m².
Currently the cathedral is located in front of the east side of Parque Colón. The typology of the cathedral is neoclassical in style with neo-Gothic elements made up of two fronts of two sections and two towers with a bell tower made up of three sections topped by a cupola and lanterns.
san francisco Church: is part of the Convent of San Francisco. Temple dedicated to San Francisco, began its formal construction in 1585, was burned in 1856 as a result of the fighting that took place to evict William Walker from the city, as well as by the fire that he ordered before leaving the city. It underwent several reconstructions and modifications since 1885, it was restored in 1998. The Church was declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation in 1969.
San Francisco convent
The main façade is neoclassical in style, defined by its pediment that crowns it, other styles can be observed such as the octagonal windows of the antique style and the elliptical moldings, the columns of order reminiscent of Tuscany or the Mudéjar-style merlones that adorn the façade.
San Francisco convent: the historical complex of the Monastery of San Francisco, was founded in 1529 under the name of Immaculate Conception. It constitutes one of the most important national monuments, whose function was to control the axis of access to the city through the lake. The current physiognomy corresponds to the different interventions given at the end of the 1974th century and in the middle of the XNUMXth century. Declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation in XNUMX.
The facade of the convent is composed of the basement, middle section and roof. The plinth made up of steps that concludes in the façade, being defined by two segmented pilasters that guard the double door with a lobed arch crowned by the garrison that presents new elements that center on a possible religious emblem. The east wall of the complex is important, which has preserved its original construction.
Currently, this historical and cultural building is the San Francisco Convent Museum Cultural Center. It houses five museums where the best of the culture and the cultural and historical heritage of the city of Granada are exhibited: the Community Museum of the Traditions of Granada, the National Museum of Primitive Painting “Asilia Guillén”, the Museum of Popular Religious Art “San Francisco of Assisi”, Museum of Traditional Furniture and Regional Museum of Archeology “Zapatera Collection”, highlighting the room of pre-Hispanic statuary, unique in the world. There is also the Municipal Library.
In this temple is the image of the Virgin of the Rosary, to whom tribute is paid in October with El atabalA typically Granada-born expression that comes out with its sounds of drums and verses every Saturday night in October.
La Merced Church: it dates back to the first half of the 1740th century. This building was simple, made of wood and covered with straw. It consisted of only one nave and later columns were included on the sides to define a set of three naves. The second temple began to be built in 1781. In 1783, the tower was built by the Mercedarian friars, ending in XNUMX.
Mary Help of Christians Church
In 1854 it was set on fire, due to the military events of the civil war, destroying the last two bodies of the tower. It was restored between 1862 and 1863.
During the XNUMXth century the vault, central nave and south nave were built, as well as the restoration of the baptistery, the interior of the tower and the pulpit, in addition to continuing the ornamentation of the central nave and finally a chapel dedicated to the Virgin of Fatima.
The main façade is in the Baroque style, it has three bodies divided by a cornice, and a combination of six half columns with fluted shafts, forming five intercolumniations with three entrances.
Panoramic photographs of Granada can be taken from its tower, upon payment at the entrance of the church.
Guadalupe Church: its origins date from 1624 to 1629. In 1856, William Walker's troops entrenched themselves in the church, constructively affecting it. In 1945 the facade was remodeled. In 1954, the apse and the dome that rests on the presbytery were added. From 1954 to 1965 the walls and vault of the lateral nave and the sacristy were rebuilt. Declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation in 1969.
Church of Xalteva: It is located on Calle Real to the west of Granada in the sector where the indigenous town of Xalteva was located before the conquest. It was built in colonial times and due to its location it was used as a military fortress. According to the references of Bishop Pedro Agustín Morel de Santa Cruz, already by 1751, this temple existed.
This sanctuary had three functions: for religious acts, a place of surveillance and a space for trade relations with the Spanish in order to associate with the indigenous people of the town of Xalteva.
After its destruction in the National War, it was rebuilt in its interior and facade, its last considerable reconstruction of the 1890th century was during the period 1898 to XNUMX.
Mary Help of Christians Church: located at the end of the Calle Real de Xalteva, on the north side of the Salesiano College. It is the work of Father José Misieri, faithful Salesians and generous cooperators.
Chapel of Las Animas
It was built in the Gothic style in 1921 in commemoration of the first centenary of the Independence of Nicaragua and Central America. Its construction concluded in 1922. It has a surprising high altar for its elegance in its style.
Chapel of Souls: is located in the granada cemetery between Las Camelias street and the road to Nandaime.
In 1878, the North American Teodoro E. Hooke began a campaign to endow the Granada cemetery with a chapel. In 1885 the walls were raised, only missing the roof. It was built under the direction of the master builder, Carlos Ferrey. Its architecture is neoclassical in style, its main façade is framed by four columns on a raised atrium. The walls are built of carved quarry stone and fine chisel carvings. The roof is defined by a vault and the altar is finished by a taquezal dome.
Central Park o Colon Park: It occupies the place of the old Plaza Mayor of the city, defined since the founding of the city in 1524. It was declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation in 1974.
The quintessential center of the Granada community and visitors, around which are the most important buildings of the city, among these: the Municipal Palace, highlighting the Andalusian stylistic influence; the Palacio de Comunicaciones, in a baroque style and with neoclassical lines; the Episcopal Palace of classic North American style, and the Colegio San Antonio, this building forms a neoclassical complex with the other buildings that are integrated along the block.
There is also the Casa de Los Leones, which stands out for its stone portal, baroque style, considered the best vestige of civil architecture from the colonial era of Granada. The Old Episcopal Palace, with a neoclassical façade; the Old Social Club, today the “Joaquín Pasos Argüello” Cultural Center of neoclassical influence and the Casa Pellas, in an eclectic style, based on a neoclassical spatial distribution of its elements.
Xalteava wall
And of course, Calle La Calzada with its characteristic colonial buildings. At the end of the street, Lake Cocibolca with its newly restored boardwalk, a meeting and leisure place.
Lions and Independence Square: declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation in 1974. This Plaza is the generating element from which the two main axes of the city depart: Calle Real and Calle La Calzada to the vicinity of Lake Nicaragua.
Xalteva walls: declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation in 1974. Its construction took place between 1746 and 1761, which was known by inscriptions discovered by a Jesuit priest in 1938. They were founded in quarry stone under the direction of Brigadier Fernández de Heredia, a Spanish military sent from Havana.
Old Railway Station: is in front of the Sandino Park, at the end of Calle Atravesada at its northern end.
Neoclassical in style, with a marked English and French influence in its volume without buildings in its environment that compete with it. It is a property of high heritage value, for being a benchmark of the socioeconomic, historical, cultural and architectural dynamics of Granada.
Since 1882, the idea was to build a terminal building for the Nicaraguan Pacific Railroad to the north of Granada, and on March 1886, XNUMX, the railroad arrived at the station for the first time. In its parking lot is the presidential wagon of General José Santos Zelaya.
Granada Cemetery: Founded in 1830, it constitutes a cultural asset with more than a century of existence, where the remains of many characters who were part of the political, cultural and social life of La Gran Sultana rest.
La Polvora Fortress
It also contains a series of artistic monuments of great aesthetic, formal and constructive value, alluding to its use, providing greater enhancement and value to the history of the city and to the work of the time that makes its conservation worthwhile.
Of this cemetery, one of the first mausoleums that stands out for its size and finishes is that of Fruto Chamorro, a conservative politician who served as supreme director of the State of Nicaragua and was the first President of the Republic.
There are also the remains of the former presidents: José María Estrada Reyes, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Alfaro, Fernando Guzmán, Vicente Cuadra Lugo, Joaquín Zavala, Diego Manuel Chamorro and Lorenzo Guerrero. In addition, the poets are buried: Pablo Antonio Cuadra, Carlos Martínez Rivas, Ernesto Mejía Sánchez, Enrique “Quico” Fernández Morales, among others.
Church of Xalteva
The Italian marble chapels with Gothic or neoclassical style and beautiful sculptures of angels, crucifixes and Marian invocations, are part of the varied images that adorn the Granada cemetery, declared Historical and Artistic Patrimony of the Nation, by the National Assembly in October of 2012.
Other properties that hold the designation as Cultural Heritage of the Nation are: the National Technological Institute, INTECNA, declared in 2009, and the Municipal Historical Archive of the city of Granada declared in 2008.
The Casa del Recodo: of great historical value and icon of colonial architecture. This is where the filibuster William Walker hid when he was in retreat. It is characterized by its volumetric simplicity; declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation in 1994.
The San Pablo Fortress: located on Isla del Castillo, it was built to defend against the English invasions of the late 1783th century. It was built between 1785-XNUMX by the military engineer José María Alexandre. Characterized by its configuration as a military fort.
La Pólvora Fortress: it became the center and nerve of the defense of Granada and Nicaragua. The main function was to supply ammunition to El Castillo de la Inmaculada, on the San Juan River. It was built in the mid-XNUMXth century by the engineer Luis Díez Navarro.
A must on this tour are the houses that are part of the traditional architecture of Granada, its architectural grandeur, its typical patios with flowers and tropical plants and its characteristic wicker rocking chairs, are a hallmark of Granada's identity.
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