Guatemala City Ciudad de Guatemala |
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City | |||
Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción | |||
Collage of several city landmarks
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Motto: "Todos somos la ciudad" (We are all the city), "Tú eres la ciudad" (You are the city) | |||
Location within Guatemala | |||
Coordinates: 14°36′48″N 90°32′7″W / 14.61333°N 90.53528°WCoordinates: 14°36′48″N 90°32′7″W / 14.61333°N 90.53528°W | |||
Country | Guatemala | ||
Department | Guatemala | ||
Established | 1776 | ||
Government | |||
• Type | Municipality | ||
• Mayor | Álvaro Arzú (PU. Partido Unionista) | ||
Area | |||
• City | 692 km2 (267 sq mi) | ||
• Land | 1,905 km2 (736 sq mi) | ||
• Water | 0 km2 (0 sq mi) | ||
Elevation | 1,500 m (4,900 ft) | ||
Population (2012 Estimate) | |||
• City | 2,110,100 | ||
• Metro | 4,500,000 | ||
Time zone | Central America (UTC-6) | ||
Climate | Cwb | ||
Website | www |
Guatemala City (Spanish: Ciudad de Guatemala), locally known as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala, and the most populous in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nestled in a mountain valley called Valle de la Ermita (English: Hermitage Valley). In 2009, it had a population of 1,075,000. Guatemala City is also the capital of the local Municipality of Guatemala and of the Guatemala Department.
Human settlement on the present site of Guatemala City began with the Maya who built a city at Kaminaljuyu. The Spanish colonists established a small town, which was made a capital city in 1775. At this period the Central Square with the Cathedral and Royal Palace were constructed. After Central American independence from Spain the city became the capital of the United Provinces of Central America in 1821.
The 19th century saw the construction of the monumental Carrera Theater in the 1850s, and the Presidential Palace in the 1890s. At this time the city was expanding around the 30 de junio Boulevard and elsewhere, displacing native settlements from the ancient site. Earthquakes in 1917–1918 destroyed many historic structures. Under Jorge Ubico in the 1930s a hippodrome and many new public buildings were constructed, although peripheral poor neighborhoods that formed after the 1917–1918 earthquakes continued to lack basic amenities.