San Cristóbal de las Casas is a city and municipality located in the Central Highlands region of Chiapas. As a municipality, the city functions as the governmental authority for 83 other rural communities outside the city proper, which cover a territory of 484 km2. Of these communities, the most important include La Candelaria, San Antonio del Monte, Mitziton, San José Yashitinin, El Pinar, Buenavista, Pedernal, Corazon de Maria and Zacualpa Ecatepec. The municipality borders the municipalities of
Chamula,
Tenejapa,
Huixtán,
Teopisca,
Totolapa,
Chiapilla,
San Lucas and
Zinacantán. The city, especially the historic center, has maintained its Spanish colonial layout, with narrow cobblestone streets, roofs covered in red clay tile and
wrought iron balconies with flowers. The facades of the buildings vary from
Baroque to
Neoclassical and
Moorish, painted in various colors. Milk delivery from local dairy farms still use canisters on donkeys, and farmers typically still use horses and donkeys for hauling wood and farmed goods within their own properties. Designated a "
Pueblo Mágico" (Magical Village) in 2003, it was further recognized as "the most magical of the Pueblos Mágicos" by President
Felipe Calderón in 2010. One aspect of traditional culture associated with these indigenous groups is the making of textiles, especially weaving, with
amber another important product. Ceramics, wrought iron and filigree jewelry can be found as well. The best known area for crafts is the
tianguis at Santo Domingo. The city hosts an annual Amber Expo at the Centro de Convenciones Casa de Mazariegos. The event exhibits and sells amber and amber pieces from the area of the state. The main feature of the church is its main facade, which was finished in 1721. It is Baroque painted yellow with ornamental columns and niches in which are various saints. It is divided into three horizontal and three vertical levels marked off by pairs of
Solomonic columns and meant to resemble an
altarpiece. It is further decorated with intricate raised
stucco work mostly in white which show
Oaxacan and
Guatemalan influences. The layout of the interior shows Moorish influence. The main altar is dedicated to both the Virgin of the Assumption and Saint Christopher. The wood
pulpit is from the 16th century and gilded. The side walls have two Baroque altarpieces, one to the Virgin of the Assumption and the other to
John of Nepomuk. There is also a small chapel dedicated to the
Virgin of Guadalupe on the north side. The sacristy has a large colonial era paintings of Jesus in Gethsemane by
Juan Correa as well as paintings by
Miguel Cabrera and
Eusebio de Aguilar. It is common to see older indigenous women in the cathedral, with some even traversing the entire nave on their knees to approach the large image of Jesus handing above the Baroque altar. At the back of the cathedral, there is an affixed church called the San Nicolás Temple. It was constructed between 1613 and 1621 in Moorish design by
Augustinian monks for use by the indigenous population. It is the only church in the city which has not been significantly altered since its construction. The roof is pitched and pyramid shaped built with wood and tile, and its facade is made of stone and brick with little ornamentation. Two of its images, the Señor de la Misericordia and the Virgen de los Dolores are both from Guatemala. The city hall, often called the Palacio de Gobierno, is a Neoclassical construction which was built in the 19th century by architect
Carlos Z. Flores. It contains a series of arches supported by
Tuscan columns. In front of the city hall at night, young men and women promenade past each other in opposite directions around the
gazebo. The city hall is scene to fairly frequent protests, some directly associated with the
Zapatistas and others are held by student activists from
UNAM in
Mexico City. These protests are generally accompanied by lines of riot police. When
Dominicans came to San Cristóbal from
Seville,
Spain, they were given an area of land to construct their church and monastery. The first stone was laid in 1547 by Francisco Marroqui, then Bishop of Guatemala. The monastery was finished in 1551. It is one of the most ornate structures in
Latin America, both due to the stucco work on the main facade and the gilded altarpieces which completely cover the length on the church's interior. The facade of the main church is Baroque with Salomonic columns heavily decorated in stucco forms to mimic an altarpiece. The interior has a pulpit carved of wood and covered in gold leaf. The walls are covered in Baroque altarpieces includes those dedicated to the
Holy Trinity. The La Caridad Temple was constructed on the site in 1712, established as part of the first hospital for the indigenous. The main facade of this church is designed as an altarpiece with two levels, a central bell tower and Tuscan columns and
pilasters. Its design is derived from the Baroque that developed in
Lima,
Peru. There is an image of the Virgen de la Caridad (Virgin of Charity) carrying a baton like a military general. There is also a notable sculpture of
Saint James on horseback. The complex contains two museums. The Museo de la Historia de la Ciudad covers the history of the city until the 19th century. Of this collection, the two most important pieces are some petals of a pomegranate flower, from a receptacle for the Host in the cathedral. It is one of the most important works of Chiapas silversmithing. The rest of the piece has been lost. The other is a part of the original choir seating of the same Cathedral. The Centro Cultural de los Altos has a collection of some of the area's textiles from each ethnicity and exhibits on how they are made. It has a store associated with it called the Sna-Jolobil, which means house of weaving in
Tzotzil.
Casa Na Bolom (House of the Jaguar) is a museum, hotel and restaurant located outside the city's historic center. The structure was built as part of a seminary in 1891, but it became the home of
Frans Blom and
Gertrude Duby Blom in the 20th century. Franz was an explorer and archeologist and Gertrude was a journalist and photographer. The couple spent over fifty years in Chiapas collecting tools, crafts, archeological pieces and clothing, especially related to the
Lacandon Jungle and
people. The museum is dedicated to this collection along with keeping some of the old household rooms intact, such as Franz's study. It also contains a library with more than 10,000 volumes dedicated to the history, culture and anthropology of the region. There are also magazine and sound libraries as well as the old chapel which contains colonial era religious art. The back of the structure contains a botanical garden. The La Merced monastery was the first in the city founded by the
Mercedarians from Guatemala in 1537. It was built as a fortress with barracks for soldiers and space for citizens in case of attack. The church entrance has a massive wooden door with wrought iron hinges and fastenings. There are very few windows and those that exist are built to allow muskets to fire on attackers. The entire structure is built with extensions and abutments to provide for interlocking fields of fire. Entry to the fortifications is denied as too dangerous. The church still functions as such. It consists of a single nave, with interior remodeled in Neoclassical design during the
Porfirio Díaz era. The oldest part of the structure is an arch and columns located in the interior of the sacristy, which is decorated in stucco of various colors with floral and vegetative motifs. At the foot of the column, there are two lions symbolizing Spanish domination. In the latter half of the 19th century, the structure was used as a military barracks and in 1960, it was converted into the city jail which it remained until 1993. In 2000 the former monastery was further converted into the Museum of Amber, which has a collection of over three hundred pieces and is the only one of its kind in the Americas. The Carmen Temple and the Arco Torre, both in Moorish style, are located on Andador . The Carmen Temple is all that remains of the former La Encarnación convent which was founded in 1597 with the first nuns arriving between 1609 and 1610. The complex includes the old cloister, nuns' cells and other structures. The original church building burned and it was restored conserving its simple facade. One unusual feature of the church is that its layout is L-shaped, covering the south and west sides of a small plaza. Inside, the walls have carved wood panels and a Neoclassical altar which has been recently restored. In the colonial period, the convent and church served as one of the main entrances into the city. An arch with tower was constructed next to the convent in 1680, now simply called the Arco del Carmen. This arch is in pure Moorish style, with three levels of decoration. It is the only one of its style in Mexico. This arch with its accompanying tower has been adopted as one of the symbols of San Cristóbal. The San Cristóbal Church is atop a long staircase up the hill. It is often closed but it offers panoramic views of the city. At the San Cristóbal church the patron saint is celebrated on 25 July with
marimbas, food and fireworks. For ten days previously, each of the main neighborhoods has a pilgrimage to the top of the hill. The San Francisco Church was built by the
Franciscans in 1577 as a monastery but only the church survives. The current church was built in the 18th century with a single nave covered in a wood and tile roof. The main facade has three levels and two side towers. Inside, it has six Baroque altarpieces. The upper part of the nave has fourteen oil paintings. The atrium has a sculpted stone
baptismal font. The Guadalupe Church is located on the Cerro de Guadalupe. It was constructed in 1834. To reach it, there are seventy nine stairs up the hill. The church has a single nave with a side chapel. The main altar has an oil painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe and the side chapel contains a sculpture of the Virgin from 1850. The atrium affords panoramic views of the city. The feast of this Virgin is celebrated annually with a parade on the main street with fireworks, rockets and candlelight vigils. The Santo Tomas Church is just north of the historic center. It has a museum in the back, in a building which was the barracks and parade grounds built when the city was founded. The Santa Lucía Church was constructed in 1884 by architect Carlos Z. Flores over what was a dilapidated chapel. It consists of a single nave with
pilasters on its walls and pointed arches. The main altar is
Gothic with Neoclassical and
Art Nouveau elements. The Museo Mesoamericano del Jade has
jade pieces from the
Olmec,
Teotihuacan,
Mixtec,
Zapotec,
Maya,
Toltec and
Aztec cultures. There is also a life-sized replica of the burial chamber of
Pakal of
Palenque as it looked when the king was buried. The
Maya Medicine Museum is dedicated to the various techniques and practices of indigenous medicine, many of which are still practiced today. The Museo de las Culturas Populares de Chiapas (Museum of Popular Cultures of Chiapas) is located on Diego de Mazariego Street. It is mostly dedicated to the indigenous cultures of the state with the aim of recuperating, valuing and promoting knowledge of these cultures in Chiapas and beyond. The museum has exhibits of many of these cultures and also sponsors live events related to its mission as well. Casa de las Sirenas is one of the most notable domestic structures from the colonial era. It was built by
Andrés de la Tovilla in
Plateresque style and dates from the 16th century. It is named after a mermaid that appears on its crest in one of the corners. The Antiguo Colegio de San Francisco Javier today houses the Faculty of Law of the state university. It was founded by the
Jesuits in 1681 for the education of the Spanish elite. Its current facade is two levels in Neoclassical style. The interior contains murals about the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. ==History==