San Juan

The area of the today's city has been inhabited since 1508. In 1521, the Spanish founded a city there. It was called San Juan Bautista Puerto Rico along with the surrounding islands. The name was split up in 1746 because it was confusing to call the city and the island the same. The city was called San Juan Bautista and the island only Puerto Rico. San Juan is the oldest city in Puerto Rico . The city was an important port and trade center. Due to its location, it faced many attacks from sea. As a result of that, many defense ports have been built on the coast: the Fort San Felipe delta Morro in the 16th century, the Fort San Cristobál in the 17th century and the Fort El Palacio de Santa Catalina also called La Fortaleza in the 16th century. La Fortaleza used to be the residence of the governor. .

UNESCO Sites

Apart from the forts, there are many other historical monuments from the colonial era in San Juan. The historical center of the city, which is on the World Heritage Site List UNESCO (Old San Juan) , is situated in the western part of the small island Isleta de San Juan. The island is connected with the mainland by two bridges and an embankment. The historical center is surrounded by well-preserved fortification walls. In the very center of the old part of the city, you can walk through narrow cobbled lanes with beautiful colonial buildings from the 16th and 17th century. There are governmental buildings, the town hall Alcaldia, the church San José from 1523, the El Covento Hotel, the house Casa Blanca, the theater Teatro Tapia, the former Spanish barracks- today the Museum of Ballajá, the former city prison- today the history museum La Princesa, the cathedral San Juan Bautista with the tomb of the Spanish founder of cities.

Beach near the city

East of the Old San Juan, there is the popular and sought-after Condado Beach. Next to the beach, there is an interesting ocean park.

Oldest university on the island

Colleges and universities are situated in the southern part of the city. There is also a botanic garden there. In this part of the city, called Rio Piedras, there is the oldest university on the island, the University of Puerto Rico, founded in 1903.

GPS: 18.4663000000, -66.1105000000  Edit

Altitude: 15 m  Edit

Foundation (year): 1509  Edit

	Condado Lagoon National parks, 3.3 km	Add to the plan
	Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico Museums, 5.1 km	Add to the plan
	Plaza Las Américas 6.2 km	Add to the plan
	San Patricio Plaza 6.3 km	Add to the plan

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