Grenada (Nicaragua)

Santiago de Granada, or simply Granada, is a municipality and a city in the Republic of Nicaragua, head of the department of Granada. The city was founded in 1524, making it one of the oldest in the country and in Central America. Granada was a candidate to be the capital of the Republic of Nicaragua; The city is internationally known for its colonial architecture, as well as being the meeting point for poets, especially at the Granada International Poetry Festival, which has earned it the title of The Paris of Central America.

Granada is also known as La Gran Sultana, due to its Moorish appearance, unlike León, its sister city and historical rival, which has more Castilian appearances.

Geography

Limits

It borders to the north with the municipality of Tipitapa, to the south with the municipality of Nandaime, to the east with the municipality of San Lorenzo and Lake Cocibolca and to the west with the municipalities of Tisma, Masaya, Diriá, Diriomo, Nandaime and the Support Lagoon.

Cocibolca Lake

The Spaniards who founded the city called this lake: Mar Dulce due to the large area it occupies, currently it is called: Lake Cocibolca, Great Lake of Nicaragua or Lake Nicaragua, navigating in its Aguas represents a tourist attraction for all visitors to the city.

Among the characteristics of the lake are:

• It's the only freshwater lake in the world with sharks.
• It has waves and tides just like the seas.

Islets of Granada

The Isletas de Granada, in Lake Cocibolca, are located a short distance from the city and form an archipelago of more than 360 small islands of various sizes, easily accessible and are a paradisiacal tourist attraction.

The islets are the product of an avalanche of stone and mud that fell from the slopes of the Mombacho volcano. The alluvial front of the avalanche is the Asese Peninsula. According to studies carried out by experts Thomas Shea, Benjamin van Wyk de Vries and Martín Pilato, the islets are the product of an avalanche from Mombacho and not an eruption, which can be easily observed using Google Earth.

Mombacho Volcano Nature Reserve

Mombacho Volcano Nature Reserve.

Nicaragua's Mombacho Volcano National Park is located south of Granada and the Isletas de Granada. The beauty of its landscapes and the richness of its flora and fauna make this place a unique place. The site is not only pristine, but the eastern part of the park is still virgin to human exploration. The Isletas de Granada are supposed to have been formed from the eruption of the volcano. There are also unique species of fauna and flora in the world. There are tourist excursions that allow exploration of the national park.

History

It was founded in 1524 by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, which makes it one of the oldest cities of the two colonial cities that Nicaragua has and one of the first cities on the American mainland.

Unlike other towns that assert the same, the city of Granada was not only the settlement of the conquest, but also a city registered in the official records of the Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Castilla in Spain.^{[citation needed]} During colonial times, Granada was a sister city to the settlement of Antigua Guatemala, maintained a flourishing level of trade with ports on the Atlantic Ocean via Lake Cocibolca, and the San Juan River, and was the target of attacks by English, French and Dutch pirates who unsuccessfully tried to take control of the settlement by sailing up the San Juan River.

The city was destroyed by William Walker's filibustering troops in 1856, during the Nicaraguan National War. One of Walker's generals, Charles Frederick Henningsen, burned down the city before escaping, destroying much of the colonial-era architecture and inscribing the words 'Here Was Grenada' on the city. in the ruins before leaving.

For many years Granada disputed with León its hegemony as the main city of Nicaragua. The city of Granada was favored by the conservatives, while León was favored by the liberals. For many years there was a conflict that at times became quite violent between the families of the cities and the political factions. In the middle of the 19th century, a compromise site was agreed upon and the capital in Managua was finally established between the two cities.

Grenada avoided much of the tumult of the Sandinista era in the 1970s and 1980s.

Since 2003, Grenada has been on the country's preliminary list of planned World Heritage nominations.

Demographics

Granada has a current population of 132,054 inhabitants. Of the total population, 49.4% are men and 50.6% are women. Almost 78.8% of the population lives in the urban area.

Description

Granada is part of the Managua Metropolitan Region and is the ninth city by population in the country after Managua and León, which are the two largest cities in Nicaragua.

The city is located on the northern shore of Lake Cocibolca or Great Lake of Nicaragua.

Economy

Industrial activities are based on sugar mills and alcohol distilleries. Fishing takes place in Lake Cocibolca. On the other hand, the attractions of the historic center of Granada and the natural attractions of the lake and its surroundings boost the tourism industry in the area, it is an important reference in the hotel industry, restaurants and nightlife.

Due to its position on the shores of Lake Cocibolca, Granada, given the condition of its lake port, was the main commercial center of the country for four centuries. This economic opulence led to several attacks by piracy in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Infrastructure

City street.

Most of the streets in Granada are narrow, as the city evolved centuries before the advent of motorized vehicles. Therefore, many streets today only allow one-way traffic, posing a challenge for visitors traveling by car.

After many years of neglect, mainly due to the nation's economic collapse in the 1980s, most of Grenada's buildings and infrastructure began to fall into disrepair. Roads and public services deteriorated.

In the decades that followed, however, the city government allocated funds to survey and restore many of Granada's historic structures. The Spanish government has provided financial cooperation for the rehabilitation of the city. One of those projects is to transform Calle La Calzada into a pedestrian street.

Culture

Grenada, like most of Pacific Nicaragua, is populated primarily by a Spanish-speaking Creole majority. People from the United States, Canada, Spain, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Austria, the Netherlands and France also reside here.

Until recently, Nicaragua experienced a booming tourism economy. This, in turn, attracted foreigners to Granada looking for colonial houses to buy, adding increasing numbers of Europeans and Americans to the city's population. Real estate prices had risen as a result of foreign interest and subsequent investment. However, with the 2018 civil conflict, the US State Department issued a travel advisory, citing "civil unrest, crime, limited availability of health care, and arbitrary application of laws." In 2020, it issued a Level 4, "Do Not Travel," due to COVID-19.

International Poetry Festival

Since 2005, the International Poetry Festival of Granada Nicaragua has been held:

• I Festival 2005: Tribute to Joaquín Pasos and in greeting to the 80 years of Ernesto Cardenal.
• II Festival 2006: Tribute to José Coronel Urtecho and in greeting to the 80s of Claribel Alegría.
• III Festival 2007: Tribute to Pablo Antonio Cuadra and in greeting to the Hundred of Manolo Cuadra and to the 80s of Fernando Silva.
• IV Festival 2008: Tribute to Solomon de la Selva.
• V Festival 2009: Tribute to Alfonso Cortés.
• VI Festival 2010: Tribute to Azarías H. Pallais.
• VII Festival 2011: Tribute to Claribel Joy.
• VIII Festival 2012: Tribute to Carlos Martínez Rivas.
• IX Festival 2013: Tribute to Ernesto Cardenal.
• X Festival 2014: Tribute to Rubén Darío.
• XI Festival 2015: Tribute to Enrique Fernández Morales and in memory of the Costa Rican poet Eunice Hate.

Tourism

Granada is the tourist city par excellence in Nicaragua and the most visited in the country. It has a colonial and neoclassical architecture. Visitors are attracted by its festivals such as horse riding, its interesting history and colonial architecture.

Granada is the most visited city in Nicaragua.

Places of interest

San Francisco Museum

The Convent of San Francisco is one of the largest antiquities in the city. It was founded in 1529 under the dedication of the Immaculate Conception by Fray Toribio de Benavente, an ecclesiastic of the Franciscan Order, known as Motolinia for his simple and poor life.

In March 2003 it was inaugurated after its restoration as a cultural center; and since then it has housed functions as a museum and library center. It has six permanent exhibition rooms with different themes: archaeology, religious imagery, primitivist painting, and history: with images of Granada between 1940 and 1980 and a model of the city's historic center.

Colon Park

Columbus Park.

It was the old parade ground of colonial Granada. Later it functioned as a tiangue (a cattle market) until it became a park. It was projected in 1880 as Central Park and on October 12, 1892, it was inaugurated with the name of Parque Colón, in commemoration of the IV Centenary of the discovery of America by the Genoese, Christopher Columbus.

Its park style is the result of numerous transformations that have occurred since its construction. The original arrangement had some reflecting pools in the corners that defined axes coinciding with the central fountain of Baroque memory. This fountain was complemented with a traditional eclectic style temple and construction system: the last two elements are currently maintained, adding four small kiosks in the corners, an obelisk dedicated to Rubén Darío on the south side and a monument to the mother in the west side. In the last remodeling, its paving was homogenized with the Plaza de los Leones and Plaza de la Independencia, achieving complete urban integration as a whole, respecting its vegetation.

Independence Square and Obelisk

Independence Square.

The obelisk is a monument dedicated to the heroes of independence in the first centenary of this event in 1921. It is located in front of the Central Park.

Granada Port Authority and Dock

This last work of 700 feet long and 16 wide is due to the work of the mayor Doctor Juan Mena Arana. Built under the direction of the architect José Pasos Díaz. It is located at the end of La Calzada street.

Granada Cathedral

Granada Cathedral.

The Cathedral of Granada is one of the most prominent buildings in the city. It is located in the eastern part of the Central Park (Parque Colón).

It has been rebuilt many times after its construction in 1583. The building was completely destroyed by William Walker in 1856. At the turn of the century XIX, the construction of the new cathedral was stopped due to lack of funds. The architect Andrés Zapata was in charge of the construction with new plans, managing to finish its construction in 1915.

Episcopal Palace

Episcopal Palace.

Built around 1913 in a neoclassical style. It is the residence of the Bishop of Granada, it is located in front of the Central Park.

The current site of the episcopal palace was occupied at the end of the XIX century by a military construction it was a building with topped forts with bars of geometric figures. This barracks was reduced to rubble with the explosion on September 27, 1894, the barracks and the current house of the lions were affected up to the corner.

An extensive property (solar) remained for a long time on the site where this building was located, until in 1913 the family of Salvador Cardenal built the current building. Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal was born here. Today it is the episcopal palace due to the legacy that Isabel Argüello, widow of Cardenal, passed away around 1920 to the bishop of the city for her residence.

Old San Juan de Dios Hospital

Rear part of the Hospital

The old San Juan de Dios Hospital is a set of ruins on Avenida Elena Arellano, which belong to the first hospital in the city and offer a site of interest for history lovers. Founded in 1905 and abandoned in 1998, it is a neoclassical building that served under the order of the Josefinas sisters.

Other sites of interest

• Xalteva Church
• Guadalupe Church
• Church La Merced
• Plazuela de los Leones
• Street
• Calle La Calzada
• Calle Real Xalteva
• San Pablo fortress in an island in the Lake of Nicaragua
• Strong gunpowder
• Municipal City Building
• Colegio San Antonio
• Diocesan College
• Old Train Station

Heritage

Historical and artistic heritage of the Nation

Nicaragua has three cemeteries that are part of the "National Historical and Artistic Heritage" that the National Assembly has declared as such and constitute cultural property. The three cemeteries are:

• Cemetery San José in Granada (30 October 2012).
• San Pedro Apostle Cemetery in Managua (2003).
• Greytown Cemetery in San Juan del Norte.
  • American Cemetery, founded in November 1859 and dedicated to the Marines of the frigate "Sabine" that shipwrecked in the mouth of the river.
  • British cemetery Wolf, founded in 1872.
  • Spanish cemetery, also called a Catholic cemetery.
  • Cemetery "Saint John's Lodge No. 357", called the Mason Cemetery.

Featured Characters

Granada is the birthplace of the poets Joaquín Pasos, José Coronel Urtecho, Ernesto Cardenal, and it is the city where Carlos Martínez Rivas grew up and was educated, the poet Rubén Darío also lived in the center of the city.

Twinned cities