Guanajuato (city)

Guanajuato
City and municipality
Guanajuato skyline Basílica colegiata University of Guanajuato Alhóndiga de Granaditas Juárez Theater Church of the Valenciana silver mine Hidalgo market
Coat of arms
Guanajuato Location in Guanajuato Show map of Guanajuato Guanajuato Guanajuato (Mexico) Show map of Mexico
Coordinates: 21°01′04″N 101°15′24″W / 21.01778°N 101.25667°W / 21.01778; -101.25667
Country	Mexico
State	Guanajuato
Founded	1548
Founded as	Real de Minas de Guanajuato
Founded by	Antonio de Mendoza
Government
• Municipal President	Alejandro Navarro Saldaña
Area
• Municipality	1,014 km2 (392 sq mi)
• City	12.25 km2 (4.73 sq mi)
Elevation (of seat)	2,045 m (6,709 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[1]
• Municipality	194,500
• Density	190/km2 (500/sq mi)
• City	70,068
• City density	5,700/km2 (15,000/sq mi)
Demonym	(in Spanish) Guanajuatense
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Postal code (of seat)	36000
Area code	+52 473
Website	(in Spanish) [1]
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Historic Town of Guanajuato and Adjacent Mines
Type	Cultural
Criteria	I, II, IV, VI
Designated	1988 (12th session)
Reference no.	482
Region	Latin America and the Caribbean

Guanajuato (Spanish pronunciation: [gwanaˈxwato], Otomi: Ndänuë) is a municipality in central Mexico and the capital of the state of the same name. It is part of the macroregion of the Bajío.^[2] It is located in a narrow valley, which makes its streets narrow and winding. Most are alleys that cars cannot pass through, and some are long sets of stairs up the mountainsides. Many of the city's thoroughfares are partially or fully underground. The historic center has numerous small plazas and colonial-era mansions, churches, and civil constructions built using pink or green sandstone. The city historic center and the adjacent mines were proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988.

The growth of Guanajuato resulted from the abundantly available minerals in the mountains surrounding it. Its mines were among the most important during the European colonization of America (along with Zacatecas also in Mexico, Potosí in Bolivia and Ouro Preto in Brazil). One of the mines, La Valenciana, accounted for two-thirds of the world's silver production at the height of its production.

The city is home to the Mummy Museum, which contains naturally mummified bodies that were found in the municipal cemetery between the mid 19th and 20th centuries.^[3] It is also home to the Festival Internacional Cervantino, which invites artists and performers from all over the world as well as Mexico. Guanajuato was the site of the first battle of the Mexican War of Independence between newly assimilated Mexican insurgent warriors and royalist troops at the Alhóndiga de Granaditas.