Ruínas de León Viejo

關於

Ruins of León Viejo is a World Heritage Site in Nicaragua. It was the original location of León. It is the present location of the town of Puerto Momotombo in the Municipality of La Paz Centro of the Department of León. It is administered by the Instituto Nicaragüense de Cultura (Nicaraguan Institute of Culture).

León Viejo was founded on June 15, 1524, by the Spanish conquistador, Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, who was decapitated at the town's Plaza Mayor (Main Square) in 1526 by governor Pedrarias Dávila, his Lieutenant.

Settled by Spanish colonists, León Viejo originally had a native population of about 15,000 and it is located on the southwestern banks of Lago de Xolotlán or Lago de Managua (Lake Xolotlán or Managua), south of the volcano Momotombo. The area suffered frequent volcanic activity, culminating in the earthquakes of 1594 and 1610.

The city was not destroyed by the 1610 quake. However, due to the damage caused to the infrastructure and the seismic activity, the settlers held a referendum and decided to relocate the city to its present location, about 30 kilometres (20 mi) to the west. Subsequently, the old city was gradually buried by the continuous expulsions of ash and volcanic stone coming from Momotombo.

The ruins of León Viejo were discovered in 1967 and excavations begun the following year revealing that the city had a similar layout to other cities in America at that time, laid out on a grid system with a main square located at its center. León Viejo occupies an approximate area of 800 m x 500 m. Around the Plaza Mayor and on the surrounding streets, 16 ruins have been partially restored.

內容改寫自 Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。照片來自 Wikimedia Commons.