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Ruins of León Viejo

Nicaragua
Date of Inscription: 2000
Criteria: (iii)(iv)
Puerto Momotombo, Municipality of La Paz Centro, Department of León
N12 23 50 W86 36 37
Ref: 613rev

Brief Description

León Viejo is one of the oldest Spanish colonial settlements in the Americas. It did not develop and so its ruins are outstanding testimony to the social and economic structures of the Spanish Empire in the 16th century. Moreover, the site has immense archaeological potential.

Justification for Inscription

Criterion iii The ruined town of León Viejo provides exceptional testimony to the material culture of one of the earliest Spanish colonial settlements. Criterion iv The form and nature of early Spanish settlement in the New World, adapting European architectural and planning concepts to the material potential of another region, are uniquely preserved in the archaeological site of León Viejo.

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