Place: Leon, Nicaragua
Weather: Partly cloudy with afternoon showers, 75/88F.
Route: From Tegucigalpa 293 km south on CA-5, CA-1, CA-3.
Founded: original city 1524 - current city 1610
Motto: Downcast, But Never Defeated!
Significance: The UNESCO World Heritage Site is specific to the Leon Cathedral, a Baroque/Neoclassical building built in the late 18th-early 19th century. However there are many other buildings from even earlier. The original city, founded in 1524, is actually 30 km away from the present city. It was buried by an eruption of the Momotombo volcano in 1610 and the city was moved to its current location. The ruins of the old city are also a World Heritage Site due to it being a rare example of a 16th century colonial city that has remained undisturbed for 400 years.
Images:
Leon Cathedral (from whc.unesco.org)
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