Plaza Murillo — Attraction in La Paz

The Plaza Murillo is the central plaza of the city of La Paz and the open space most connected to the political life of Bolivia. Prominent buildings on the plaza include the Presidential Palace, National Congress of Bolivia, and the Cathedral of La Paz (or more formally, the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, La Paz).It is located in the old town, or Casco Viejo, of the city and is surrounded by Socabaya Street to the west, Ayacucho Street to the east, Comercio Street to the south, and a continuation of Ingavi and Ballivan Streets to the north. The plaza was designed in 1558 as part of the rectilinear grid of La Paz by Juan Gutiérrez Paniagua, who was appointed by Corregidor Ignacio de Aranda, to order the city on the north bank of the Choqueyapu River. This region of the city was opposite the existing Spanish settlement, which had numbered about 200 Spaniards with some 5,000 tributary indigenous residents. The Plaza Mayor quickly supplanted the previous central square of the Spaniards, which is now called Plaza Alonso de Mendoza.Colonial buildings that were built surrounding the plaza include the Cabildo (or city government building, including a jail), a building of the Society of Jesus, the Cathedral, the Royal Treasury (Cajas Reales), and the Bishop's Residence (Casa Obispal).

The plaza has been a key site for battles for political power in Bolivia. It was fought over or defended in numerous revolutionary conflicts, including in 1809, 1811, 1814, 1862, 1865, 1871, 1898, 1946, 1952, and 2002. Independence era leaders Pedro Domingo Murillo, Juan Antonio Figueroa, Basilio Catacora, Buenaventura Bueno, Melchor Jiménez, Mariano Graneros, Apolinar Jaén, Gregorio García Lanza, Juan Bautista Sagárnaga, Juan Cordero and Simona Manzaneda were all killed on or near the plaza.In the 1946 uprising against Gualberto Villarroel, he was hung from a lamppost...

Historic place and politic heart of the country. The buildings around (amazing examples of neoclassical architecture) include the Government Palace, Parliament, Museum of Military History and the main catholic church in the city Cathedral Basilica de Nuestra Señora de La Paz It is at walking distance from most museums, main theaters and historical places like Ethnography Museum, National Arts Museum, Musical Instruments Museum, Casa de Murillo, Municipal Theater, Symphonic Orchestra Center. The square itself exhibits beautiful white marble sculptures representing muses of greek mythology and a main statue of Pedro Domingo Murillo martyr of Bolivian independence. An interesting characteristic is the kits of pigeons living around the square, they basically rule the place and paceños as well as visitors are happy to feed them and take pictures with them. There are bird food stalls and photografers who will print your...

There are several buildings around the Square, like Congress, Presidential Palace, the Chatedral Church, and others. In the top of the Congress's Building, there is a clock with the hands turning again the conventional way. The People is very gentle when you request any address. The whether is very variable and depend about the month that you visit. The transportation is very cheap and you need to deal and get treat. You can visit beautiful places like the Salary the Uyuni at the south of the country, this one had a extended and highest salty desert in the world. The mirror efect at the afternoon is very nice capture in the pictures. Bring your heavy jacket to protect...