Old Havana
| Old Havana and its Fortifications* | |
|---|---|
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
| |
| State Party |  Cuba
|
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | iv, v |
| Reference | 204 |
| Region** | Latin America and the Caribbean |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1982 (6th Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO. | |
Old Havana (Spanish: La Habana Vieja) contains the main area of the original city of Havana. The positions of the original Havana city walls are the modern boundary area of the Old Havana.
Old Havana is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the name also refers to one of the municipalities of the city of Havana, Cuba, with the latter's boundaries extending to the south and west beyond the original city. In 1982, La Habana Vieja was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List.A safeguarding campaign was launched a year later to restore the authentic character of the buildings.
EB: "...a residential area. It is richly endowed with historic buildings, representing architectural styles from the 16th through the 19th century. Covering some three square miles and hugging the harbour, Old Havana includes Spanish colonial structures, towering Baroque churches, and buildings in Neoclassic style, as well as commercial property and less pretentious homes on the fringes."
History
Spain established the city of Havana on the island of Cuba in 1519, one of the first cities in the western hemisphere to be founded by Europeans. The history of Havana spans three basic periods: the Spanish colonial period from 1519 to 1898; the American neocolonial period from 1898 to 1959; and the revolutionary period which began in 1960. The urban landscape clearly reflects elements of each of these periods.
It was the during the nearly 400-year colonial period that the core of the city was built in the Spanish colonial style. Its distinguished architecture led to it being designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.
Havana's first settlement was built on the western edge of Havana Bay. Regular attacks by buccaneers, pirates, and French corsairs prompted the Spaniards to begin fortifying the city. Four imposing colonial forts constructed of coral-limestone flank Havana Bay. Two of these are at the entrance to the channel, on the north the Castillo del Morro (now a maritime museum) and on the south the Castillo de la Punta (now the Museum of Fortifications and Armaments). On the north side of the channel is the massive Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabana (now containing a museum of ceramic arts). On the channel's south side is the Castillo de la Real Fuerza.
In 1523, King Charles I of Spain mandated the Procedures for the creation of cities in the New World. These procedures indicated that after outlining a city's plan, growth should follow a grid centered on the square shape of the plaza. Havana's original central plaza is known as the Plaza de Armas. Surrounding this plaza were important military, political, and religious buildings. Castillo de la Real Fuerza was built adjacent to the plaza on its north side.
Other early constructions around the plaza included the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, the Palacio de Segundo Cabo, the Plaza del Catedral, and the Plaza de Armas. Dominating the plaza is the cathedral, known as either the Catedral de la Habana or the Catedral de la Concepción Inmaculada.
To counteract pirate attacks on galleon convoys headed for Spain, following a royal decree in 1561 all ships headed for Spain were required to assemble their fleets in the Havana Bay. Ships arrived from May through August, waiting for the best weather conditions, and together, the fleet departed Havana for Spain by September. By the 17th century the city had become one of the main ship-building centers in the New World.
Spain found it necessary to protect many of its colonial coastal cities from attacks by both pirates and foreign powers. From 1674 to 1797 walls were built around the city of Havana, enclosing an area of approximately 3 square kilometers (about 1 sq mi). In 1863 these walls were torn down to accommodate the growing city.
While modern Havana has expanded beyond its original settlement, the narrow streets of Old Havana contain many buildings; monuments, forts, convents and churches, palaces, and alleyways that hold the history of its colonial days. Many structures fell into ruin in the later half of the 20th century, but a number are being restored.
Main sights
- Plaza de Armas - This is the plaza around which the city was built. Cities constructed by the Spanish Conquistadores in the New World were designed in a standard military fashion based on a grid pattern surrounding a central plaza. It is surrounded by governmental buildings, churches, and other structures of cultural or political significance. The name derives from the fact that this are would be a refuge in case of an attack upon the city, from which arms would be supplied to the defenders.
- Plaza Vieja was built in 1584. While it contains numerous landmarks, it differs from other plazas in that public and religious buildings are absent. Surrounding it were the homes of the city's colonial elite. Many of these homes fell into serious disrepair and are in various stages of restoration. The Casa de los Condes de Jaruco in this plaza has been fully restored and stands as an excellent example of a late colonial mansion.
- Castillo del Morro, picturesque fortress guarding the entrance to Havana bay. The construction of the castle Los Tres Reyes del Morro owed to the step along in Havana of the English pirate Sir Francis Drake. The king of Spain arranged its construction on a big stone which was known by the name of El Morro. He sent the field master Juan de Texeda, accompanied of the military engineer Battista Antonelli, who came to Havana in 1587 and began the task at once.
- La Cabaña fortress, located on the east side of the Havana Bay. The most impressive fortress of the Spanish colony was La Cabaña. It impresses with its walls of the ends of the XVIIIth century constructed along with El Morro. Every night at 9 p.m., a few soldiers dressed in suits of the epoch shoot from her the “el cañonazo de las nueve”, (gunshot of the nine). It went off every day to warn of the closing of the doors of the wall that surrounded the inner part of the city.
- San Salvador de la Punta Fortress, In the shore opposite to the Castle of El Morro, at the beginning of the curve of El Malecon, there rises the fortress of San Salvador de la Punta, of minor architectural dimensions. It was constructed in 1590, and in 1629 the Chapter of Havana decided, to defend better the port, to join her in the night with the El Morro by using a thick chain that prevented the entry of enemy ships.
- Castillo de la Real Fuerza, The fortress or the Castle of the Royal Army is another big monument that closes the Plaza de las Armas. It was the first big fortification of the city, initiated in 1558 on the ruins of an ancient fortress. In the same year, the Crown sent to Cuba the engineer Bartolomé Sanchez, supervised by 14 official and main stonemasons in order to reconstruct the castle, which had been set fire and destroyed by the French corsair Jacques de Sores.
- Catedral de San Cristóbal, the most prominent building on the Plaza de la Catedral. The Cathedral was raised on the chapel after 1748 by order of the bishop from Salamanca, Jose Felipe de Trespalacios. It is one of the most beautiful and sober churches of the American baroque.
- National Capitol, styled after the Panthéon (Paris), looking similar to the U.S. Capitol[1].
- Galician Center, Central Park, The Galician Center, of neobarroque style was establish as a social club of the Galician emigrants between 1907 and 1914. Built on the Theater Tacon (nowadays Great Theater of Havana), it was open during the Carnival of 1838 with five masked dances.
- Gran Teatro de la Habana, the Great Theater of Havana is famous, particularly for the acclaimed National Ballet of Cuba and its founder Alicia Alonso. It sometimes performs the National Opera. The theater is also known as concert hall, Garcia Lorca, the biggest in Cuba.
- The Museum of the Revolution, located in the former Presidential Palace, with the boat Granma on display in front of the museum.
- San Francisco de la Habana Basilica, Habana Vieja, The set of church and convent of San Francisco de Asis, byline of the year 1608, and it was reconstructed in 1737.
- Sancristobalcathedral.jpg
San Cristóbal Cathedral
- TeatroGarciaLorca.jpg
Great Theater of Havana
Old Havana overview
Plaza de la Catedral a La Habana
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Notes
- ↑ Frank Herbst, Cuba - Handbuch für individuelles Reisen, Reise Know-How Verlag 2006
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Harvey, David Alan. 1999. "The Rebirth of Old Havana - Renovation in the heart of Cuba's capital city illuminates centuries of architectural splendor". National Geographic. 195 (6): 36.
- Lobo Montalvo, María Luisa, Zoila Lapique Becali, and Alicia García Santana. 2000. Havana: history and architecture of a romantic city. [New York, N.Y.]: Monacelli Press. ISBN 9781580930529
- Sapieha, Nicolas, and Francesco Venturi. 1990. Old Havana, Cuba. Travel to landmarks. London: Tauris Parke Books. ISBN 9781850432210
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Old Havana and its Fortifications Retrieved December 2, 2008.
External links
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