Historic center of Querétaro

Site information

• Official name: Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro
• Location: Santiago de Querétaro, State of Querétaro, Mexico
• Type: Cultural
• Year of Inscription: 1996

During the Spanish colonial era, Querétaro (from a Tarasco Indian word for "rocky peaks") acquired an unusual cultural importance. Its unique street layout straddled two groups of residents who lived peacefully side by side. The Spanish portion of the town in a flat area contained square, straight streets. The smaller streets surrounding them curved around rocky hills and held the homes of the Otomi, Tarasco, and Chichimeca peoples, who were native to the area.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the city profited from wool and other agricultural production, which helped pay for monumental civic and religious buildings, mostly of an elaborate baroque style. The interiors of the buildings tended to be organized around arched patios, in a fashion unique to Querétaro. The buildings also used the pink stone that was prized throughout the region.

The area in the historical zone covers about two-thirds of a square mile, or 203 blocks. Of its fourteen hundred monuments, twenty are churches and monasteries or convents, and others include mansions, a theater, schools, an aqueduct, and fountains. The architectural heritage remains extremely well preserved, making the city center a lively and popular tourist destination.

History

During the time of the Aztecs, Querétaro served as a fortified military outpost to guard the northern edge of their empire. When it fell to the Spanish, the new city became a north–south trading center and a growing agricultural producer. Legend has it that in 1531 a battle took place between the allied Otomi and Purépecha Indians, who had accepted Spanish rule, against the Chichimeca Indians, who had not, over whether the Chichimeca would accept the new faith that was coming to those lands. One version of the legend says the battle ended in a tie, and both sides agreed to live as equals. Another version says the Chichimeca surrendered when the Apostle St. James (Santiago) appeared bearing a cross. Reflecting that version, the city took the name Santiago de Querétaro.

The city developed a role in trade and agriculture and became especially important for its location between Mexico City and the silver mines in Zacatecas and Guanajuato. It expanded during the sixteenth century, and during the seventeenth century, the monumental building phase began with the construction of the Convent of Santa Clara de Jesús, along with other convents and a Jesuit school. The city soon became an influential religious center, and nuns from Santa Clara Convent were sent to other locations.

During the eighteenth century, a number of new buildings helped the city reach its splendor, including new convents and monasteries, churches, and governmental offices. During the nineteenth century, more civic buildings of note were added, including a theater, a fine arts academy, and a luxury hotel, along with some private residences.

The most striking structure, however, was an aqueduct, the symbol of the city. With a length of 0.81 miles and seventy-five arches up to ninety-three feet tall, it was one of the largest aqueducts in all Mexico. It was built between 1726 and 1735, largely with funding from a local nobleman at the request of Capuchin nuns, who needed clean water for themselves and for the people they served in the city.

The St. Augustine Church and Monastery was another emblematic structure. Built between 1731 and 1745 during the height of the baroque movement, its cloister, with caryatid columns holding the arches in its courtyard, became one of the most beautiful in the Americas and one of the best examples of that style. The facade was decorated with sculptures of Christ and saints, and statues of eight angels surround its copula.

The city has played important roles in the history of Mexico. In 1810, it was the center of a conspiracy that led to the start of the War of Independence. The Theater of the Republic opened in 1852 in an elegant, sober style, and it was there that the Mexican national anthem received its first performance, simultaneously with other cites, in 1854.

In 1867, Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, who had been installed by France, was besieged in Querétaro by Mexico's Republican Army for three months. Maximilian was captured, and he and his generals were tried in the Theater of the Republic. He was executed by firing squad on a hill outside the city.

Significance

Two aspects of the Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro make it significant. First, the layout of its streets testifies to the multiethnic character of its population from its earliest days. This makes it unique among Spanish colonial towns in the Americas. The street layout was respected even as the city could afford to erect increasingly larger construction.

Second, the city has maintained an exceptional number of outstanding buildings, especially from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They illustrate a moment in history whose character includes not just an ornate style but an aspiration to create civic and religious buildings of ambition and public purpose. While the buildings fall into distinct architectural styles, they have elements of design and construction material that are unique to Querétaro. Added to that are the more minor buildings that still exist from the same time frame, mostly residential structures, which preserve the original historic character.

Over time, the city's government has made an effort to protect and retain its architectural heritage. Although many of fountains were lost, almost all of the buildings remain, both the monumental structures such as churches and the less notable but equally historic homes and businesses that surrounded them and maintained the original architectural unity. The city also rerouted public works to protect the aqueduct. The neighborhoods, plazas, aqueduct, and open spaces have retained the original design and form a united space.

Bibliography

Henderson, Timothy J. The Mexican Wars for Independence. Hill and Wang, 2010.

Historic Monuments Zone of Querétaro. World Heritage List. World Heritage Cultural Centre, UNESCO, 2016. whc.unesco.org/en/list/792.

McAllen, M. M. Maximilian and Carlot: Europe's Last Empire in Mexico. Trinity UP, 2014.

Querétaro. Visit Mexico. Mexican Tourism Board, YPERLINK "http://www.visitmexico.com/en/queretaro" www.visitmexico.com/en/queretaro. Accessed 6 December 2016.

Rosenmüller, Christoph. "Mexico in Spain's Oceanic Empire, 1519-1821." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American History,edited by William Beezley, 2016. doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199366439.013.28.

Vanderwood, Paul. "Betterment for Whom? The Reform Period, 1885-1875." Oxford History of Mexico, edited by Michael C. Meyer and William H. Beezley, U of Oxford P, 2000, pp. 371–95.