SACRED ART AND HISTORICAL LEGACY
San Cristóbal de las Casas was the capital of Chiapas until 1892 and is still considered the cultural capital of the state. The best way to explore the historic center is on foot, as it is straight-lined with narrow cobblestone streets and colonial-style buildings built in concrete and stone, with red tile roofs of mud and balconies with wrought iron railings. Here you will find many of the attractions of Chiapas, including the Cathedral of the city and several churches and civil buildings of great architectural importance.
The Cathedral of San Cristóbal is the central point of the city. It was built during the XVI and XVII centuries and restored in the 1920s. The facade, mustard yellow and white, mixes Baroque, Moorish and indigenous influences. Enter the Cathedral to find the golden altarpieces of Miguel Cabrera paintings, dating from the XVIII century.
The Temple of Carmen, with its simple façade and its XVIII century Moorish-style arch tower, is all that remains of the old convent of La Encarnación. The church and the convent, built during the XVII century, once served as the gateway to the city. Originally built in the XVIII century, the Temple of la Merced was mostly restored during the XX century. The stucco decorations on the interior columns are original. The old convent of La Merced houses the amber museum of the city.
The San Nicolás Temple, located behind the Cathedral and overlooking the central plaza, is the only church in San Cristóbal that retains its original simplistic design. On the south side of the central plaza, La Casa de la Sirena, is one of the oldest civil buildings in San Cristóbal. Its walls and columns are adorned with figures of lions and seahorses. Try to find the mermaid.
Ex-convent of Santo Domingo It was built by the Dominican Friars from 1546, the Church and former Convent of Santo Domingo is one of the most important baroque works in the region.
Its façade, fully restored in 2006, is considered one of the richest representative ornamentations of colonial baroque in Latin America.
Its interior shelters a striking pulpit carved in gilded wood with a pedestal of a single piece as well as a beautiful collection of eight baroque wooden altarpieces made between the XVI and XVIII centuries, some adorned with very well preserved canvases, and sculptures in stewed wood and polychrome of the Virgin of the Rosary and the Holy Trinity.
