Granada, Nicaragua

From Free net encyclopedia

Granada is the capital city of the Nicaraguan department of Granada. It is located at Template:Coor d, on the western shore of Lake Nicaragua, and about 18 km north of the Pacific Ocean shore. The city is dominated by the Mombacho volcano. Granada's estimated population was some 116,000 people in 2005. Granada aspires to being the future of Nicaraguan tourism after catching the attention of tourists from particularly France, Italy, Germany and Spain.

Image:GranadaNicaragua1900.jpg

Granada was founded in 1524 by Francisco Fernández de Córdoba and was long the principal city in the Nicaragua region of New Spain. It was raided by pirates from France and England in the 17th century.

After Nicaragua became independent from Spain, Granada alternated with León as the capital of Nicaragua (Granada was preferred by Conservative regimes and León by Liberal ones) until the national capital was permanently established at Managua in 1858.

Granada was long a center of commerce, including woods, cacao, and gold and silver working.

Granada remains Nicaragua's third largest city, and is known for preserving some fine colonial-era architecture. A mini real estate boom is underway, with many Americans purchasing and renovating the area's homes for vacation. There are at least two American realtors in the city, although unlike in the United States and other countries, there appear to be no official, publicly available records of purchase prices.

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