City of Potosi Bolivia

In the pre-Hispanic period, Potosí was only a small hamlet perched at an altitude of 4,000 m, in the icy solitude of the Andes. It owes its prosperity to the discovery, between 1542 and 1545, of the New World's biggest silver lodes in the Cerro de Potosí, the mountain south of the city which overlooks it. As a result, Potosí is directly and tangibly associated with an event of outstanding universal significance: the economic change brought about in the 16th century by the flood of Spanish currency resulting from the massive import of precious metals from the New World into Seville.

Continent: South America

Country: Bolivia

Category: Cultural

Criterion: (II)(IV) (VI)

Date of Inscription: 1987

The Imperial City' of Potosi

The 'Imperial City' of Potosí, which it became following the visit of Francisco de Toledo in 1572, exerted lasting influence on the development of architecture and monumental arts in the central region of the Andes by spreading the forms of a Baroque style incorporating Bolivian influence. Growth was extremely rapid: in the new town, where building began under the terms of the Law of the Indies in 1572, there were by the 17th century 160,000 colonists, as well as 13,500 Bolivians who were forced to labour in the mines. Following a period of disorganized exploitation of the native silver lodes, the Cerro de Potosí reached full production capacity after 1580, when a Peruvian-developed mining technique, known as patio, was implemented. In the 16th century, this area was regarded as the world's largest industrial complex in which the extraction of silver ore relied on a series of hydraulic mills.

Potosí is the one example par excellence of a major silver mine in modern times. The city and the region conserve spectacular traces of this activity: the industrial infrastructure comprised 22 lagunas or reservoirs, from which a forced flow of water produce the hydraulic power to activate the 140 ingenios or mills to grind silver ore. The ground ore was then amalgamated with mercury in refractory earthen kilns called huayras or guayras. It was then moulded into bars and stamped with the mark of the Royal Mint. From the mine to the Royal Mint, the whole production chain is conserved, along with dams, aqueducts, milling centres and kilns. Production continued until the 18th century, slowing down only after the country's independence in 1825.

City of Potosi Bolivia

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The site consists of the industrial monuments of the Cerro Rico, where water is provided by an intricate system of aqueducts and artificial lakes; the colonial town with the Casa de la Moneda; the Church of San Lorenzo; several patrician houses; and the barrios mitayos, the areas where the workers lived.

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The Casa de la Moneda (House of the Mint), in the centre of the city close to Republic Square, was constructed between 1753 and 1773. The house today is a numismatic museum. It possesses more than 100 colonial pictures and various archaeological and ethnographic collections. The church of San Francisco was the first church built during the colonial period; it houses the patron of Potosí, El Senor de la Vera Cruz. The church of San Lorenzo was built in 1548; it is an outstanding example of dressed stone in the local Baroque style.

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Noel Kempff Mercado National Park Bolivia

The Kempff Mercado National Park is one of the largest (1,523,000 ha) and most intact parks in the Amazon Basin. With an altitudinal range of 200 m to about 1,000 m, it contains a rich mosaic of habitat types from cerrado savannah and forest to upland evergreen Amazonian forests. The park boasts an evolutionary history dating back over a billion years to the Precambrian. Located on the border with Brazil, the site includes a large section of the Huanchaca Plateau and surrounding lowlands. There are rugged cliffs in the northern, western and southern sides of the plateau, with several valleys and steep slopes in its eastern side. Several rivers have their sources on the plateau and form spectacular waterfalls. The largest river in the area is the Iténez, which marks the border with Brazil, to the north of the park, and the Paraguá River dominates the lowlands to the west.

Continent: South America

Country: Bolivia

Category: Natural

Criterion: (IX)(X)

Date of Inscription: 2000

Kempff Mercado Biogeographic Kingdom

The north-eastern sector of the Santa Cruz Department is part of a transition zone where Amazon forest intergrades with the dry forest and savannah habitats of the Cerrado biogeographic realm. Habitat types of the region can be grouped into five basic units that represent distinct ecosystems: upland evergreen forest; deciduous forest; upland Cerrado savannah; savannah wetlands; and forest wetlands. The humid forests of the park are floristically distinct from the moist forests of western Amazon and the Andean piedmont. These forests are classified in several habitat types still scarcely studied.

An evergreen forest with tall trees is found on deep and well-drained soils, while there is a dwarf forest formation occupying a transition zone with the Cerrado. A peculiar feature of the forest is the lianas, which form a low and very thick canopy. Although trees are also part of the canopy, the lianas proliferate in such a way that they dominate. The Huanchaca Plateau has a rich Cerrado flora that incorporates many species that were thought to have a distribution restricted to central Brazil.

Noel Kempff Mercado National Park Bolivia

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The outstanding habitat diversity of the park favours the existence of a highly diverse fauna and the site is an important repository for many rare mammals of Bolivia. Over 80% of the park's mammal species are found in humid forests. Good populations of tapir, brocket deer and jaguar inhabit the upland humid forests. Long-haired spider monkey has large populations throughout the tall evergreen forests, and black-tailed silvery marmoset and monk are also present.

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The open grassland habitats on the southern portion of the plateau have possibly one of the largest remaining populations of pampas deer. Two other large mammals, maned wolf and marsh deer are found in the seasonally flooded termite savannahs below the plateau.

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Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos Bolivia

Jesuit Missions sent by the Spanish Crown to assure the conquest of the Indias del Cielo, the Jesuit fathers arrived at the Viceroyalty of Peru in 1567 to bring Christianity to the indigenous communities. The first collegial church was founded in 1577 at Potosí, on Bolivian territory; in 1592 a new house was established at Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The Jesuits seemed to have rationalized, in the Chiquito territory, the model of reducciones (settlements of Christianized Indians) which was largely inspired by the ideal city of the humanist philosophers. Between 1696 and 1760, six groups of reducciones were founded in a style that married Roman Catholic architecture with local traditions.

Continent: South America

Country: Bolivia

Category: Cultural

Criterion: (IV)(V)

Date of Inscription: 1990

The Architecture of Churches

They defined the urban model: the houses of Indians regularly spaced along the three sides of a rectangular square, with the fourth reserved for the church, the collegial church, two workshops, and the schools, and sometimes also for the Casa de la Misericordia (almshouse), which housed widows and abandoned women. Unlike other Jesuit missions in South America that were abandoned after 1767, the reducciones of the Chiquitos survived the expulsion of the Company of Jesus. The six that remain - San Francisco Javier, Concepción, Santa Ana, San Miguel, San Rafael and San José - make up a living heritage on the former territory of the Chiquitos.

The churches of the Chiquitos Missions of Bolivia are a remarkable example of the adaptation of Christian religious architecture to local conditions and traditions. Long walls defining three interior aisles divided by wooden columns and two exterior galleries, also supported by columns, constitute a very unique type of architecture, distinguished by the special treatment of the wooden columns and banisters. Only San José is an exception, because its stone construction was inspired by a Baroque model. These traditional architectural ensembles, which often enclose remarkable popular art objects, have become vulnerable under the impact of changes that threatened the Chiquitos populations following the agrarian reform of 1953.

Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos Bolivia

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San Francisco Javier, the westernmost and the earliest, is now a small village whose traditional habitat preserves some characteristics of the domestic architecture of the Jesuits, although the height of 6.25 m established for each house is rarely encountered. The school has survived, as well as the church, the work of Father Martin Schmidt. Concepción, founded in 1709, was not established permanently until 1722. The church, begun in 1725, is also a work of Father Martin Schmidt.

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Santa Ana was founded in 1755 and its church was erected between 1768 and 1831, after the expulsion of the Jesuits. San Miguel was established in 1721. The church, the construction of which began in 1750, was built according to the designs of Father Johann Messner. San Raphael has retained from the Jesuit period only its church, constructed in about 1750 by Father Martin Schmidt. It is distinguished by an outside promenade gallery and a wooden bell tower. San José, founded in 1698, was one of the most interesting reducciones of Chiquito. Four chapels for processions stand at the corners of the square. The religious ensemble was extensively remodelled in the 18th century.

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Historic City of Sucre Bolivia

The rich heritage of the historic centre of the Spanish city of Sucre (also known as the city of four names - La Plata, Characas, Ciudad Blanca and Sucre) is an excellent, intact and well-preserved illustration of the architectural blending achieved in Latin America through the assimilation of local traditions and styles imported from Europe. The city of La Plata was founded by Pedro de Anzures, Marqués de Campo Rotondo, in 1538. Its foundation was a result of mining activities overseen by Gonzalo Pizarro, who was interested in exploring the highland eastern region of the Andean Cordillera.

Continent: South America

Country: Bolivia

Category: Cultural

Criterion: (IV)

Date of Inscription: 1991

Ancient History of Sucre

In 1559, the Spanish King Felipe II commanded the foundation of the Audiencia de Characas, with its headquarters in the city of La Plata, to administer the eastern territories. The Audiencia held judicial authority and executive powers and presided over the regions of what are now Paraguay, south-eastern Peru, northern Chile and Argentina, and most of Bolivia. The Spanish city was designed on a simple urban plan, like all the cities founded by the Spanish in the regions of America in the 16th century. The mineral wealth of the nearby city of Potosí influenced the economic development of La Plata, which was also a major cultural centre (Universidad de San Francisco, the Royal Academia Carolina, San Isabel de Hungria Seminario), and the seat of the Characas Audiencia, a forerunner of the present Supreme Court.

In 1609 the city became the seat of an archbishopric, and during the 17th century La Plata served as a legal, religious and cultural centre of the Spanish eastern territories. The first call for independence in the Americans took place in the city of La Plata in 1809. In August 1825 independence was declared and a new republic was born under the name of Bolivia. In the same days the name of the city, La Plata, was changed to Sucre in honour of Mariscal António José de Sucre, who fought for independence from Spanish rule.

Historic City of Sucre Bolivia

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The buildings in the city's historic centre are characteristic of 18th-century local architecture, and are similar to those built during the same period in Potosí. More recent buildings (late 18th and early 19th centuries) still have patios, but they are adapted to a neoclassical style brought from metropolitan Spain. The House of Freedom is considered to be the most important historical monument of the country, because it was here that the events that led to the independence of Bolivia took place. It was built in 1621 as part of the Convent of the Jesuits.

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On the other hand, many religious buildings bear witness to the period that marked the beginning of the Spanish city, including the churches built by settlers dating back to the 16th century, such as San Lázaro, San Francisco, Santo Domingo, and the Metropolitan Cathedral, the construction of which began in 1559 and was not completely finished until 250 years later. Its architecture displays Renaissance, Baroque and also 'Mestizo Baroque' features. The church of Santa Barbara is the only church in Renaissance style in Bolivia: its interior structure, of neo-Gothic style, dates from 1887. All the churches of Sucre illustrate the blending of local architectural traditions with styles imported from Europe.

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Spiritual and Political Centre of the Tiwanaku Culture

The ruins of Tiwanaku bear striking witness to the power of the empire that played a leading role in the development of the Andean pre-Hispanic civilization. The buildings are exceptional examples of the ceremonial and public architecture and art of one of the most important manifestations of the civilizations of the region. Tiwanaku began as a small settlement, in what is known as its 'village period', around 1200 BCE. It was self-sufficient, with a non-irrigated form of farming based on frost-resistant crops, essential at this high altitude, producing tubers such as potatoes, oca and cereals, notably quinoa. In more sheltered locations near Lake Titicaca, maize and peaches were also cultivated. The inhabitants lived in rectangular adobe houses that were linked by paved streets.

Continent: South America

Country: Bolivia

Category: Cultural

Criterion: (III)(IV)

Date of Inscription: 2000

Tiwanaku Culture

During the 1st century CE, Tiwanaku expanded rapidly into a small town. This may be attributable to the introduction of copper metallurgy, to the consequent availability of superior tools and implements and to the creation of irrigation systems. The wealthy upper class, which also controlled the profitable trade in wool from the vast herds of domesticated alpaca in the region, provided the finance for the creation of large public buildings in stone and paved roads linking Tiwanaku with other settlements in the region. The marshy tracts on the lakeside, where the climatic conditions were more favourable, were brought into cultivation by the creation of terraced raised fields.

The Tiwanaku Empire probably entered its most powerful phase in the 8th century AD. Many daughter towns or colonies were set up in the vast region under Tiwanaku rule, the most important of which was Wari in Peru, which was to set itself up as a rival to Tiwanaku. The political dominance of Tiwanaku began to decline in the 11th century, and its empire collapsed in the first half of the 12th century

Spiritual and Political Centre of the Tiwanaku Culture Bolivia

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Tiwanaku is located near the southern shores of Lake Titicaca on the Altiplano, at an altitude of 3,850 m. Most of the ancient city, which was largely built from adobe, has been overlaid by the modern town. However, the monumental stone buildings of the ceremonial centre survive in the protected archaeological zones.

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The most imposing monument at Tiwanaku is the temple of Akapana. It is a pyramid originally with seven superimposed platforms with stone retaining walls rising to a height of over 18m. Only the lowest of these and part of one of the intermediate walls survive intact. Investigations have shown that it was originally clad in blue stone and surmounted by a temple, as was customary in Mesoamerican pyramids. It is surrounded by very well-preserved drainage canals. The walls of the small semi-subterranean temple (Templete) are made up of 48 pillars in red sandstone. There are many carved stone heads set into the walls, doubtless symbolizing an earlier practice of exposing the severed heads of defeated enemies in the temple.

To the north of the Akapana is the Kalasasaya, a large rectangular open temple, believed to have been used as an observatory. It is entered by a flight of seven steps in the centre of the eastern wall. The interior contains two carved monoliths and the monumental Gate of the Sun, one of the most important specimens of the art of Tiwanaku. It was made from a single slab of andesite cut to form a large doorway with niches on either side. Above the doorway is an elaborate bas-relief frieze depicting a central deity, standing on a stepped platform, wearing an elaborate head-dress, and holding a staff in each hand. The deity is flanked by rows of anthropomorphic birds and along the bottom of the panel there is a series of human faces. The ensemble has been interpreted as an agricultural calendar.

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Fuerte de Samaipata Bolivia

Samaipata bears outstanding witness to the existence in this Andean region of a political culture with highly developed religious traditions, illustrated dramatically in the form of the dominant ceremonial feature of this site, its immense rock sculptures. The site is known to have been occupied and used as a ritual and residential centre by people belonging to the Mojocoyas culture as early as AD 300, and it was at this time that work began on the shaping of this great rock. It was occupied in the 14th century by the Inca, who made it a provincial capital. This is confirmed by the features that have been discovered by excavation - a large central plaza with monumental public buildings around it and terracing of the neighbouring hillsides for agriculture - which are characteristic of this type of Inca settlement. It formed a bulwark against the incursions of the warlike Chiriguanos of the Chaco region in the 1520s.

Continent: Southe America

Country: Bolivia

Category: Cultural

Criterion: (II)(III)

Date of Inscription: 1998

Fuerte de Samaipata

The strategic location of the site, which had attracted the Inca to it, was also recognized by the Spaniards. The silver mines of the Cerro Rico at Potosí began to be worked in 1545 and the colonial settlement of Samaipata had become an important staging post on the highway from Asunción and Santa Cruz to the colonial centres in the High Andes such as La Plata (modern Sucre), Cochabamba and Potosí. With the establishment of the new town of Samaipata in the Valle de la Purificación, the ancient settlement had no further military importance and was abandoned.

The archaeological site of Samaipata consists of two parts: the hill with its many carvings, believed to have been the ceremonial centre of the old town (14th-16th centuries), and the area to the south of the hill, which formed the administrative and residential district. The reddish sandstone hill is divided naturally into a higher part, known as El Mirador, and a lower, where the carvings are located.

Fuerte de Samaipata Bolivia

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The carvings in the western part include two felines on a circular base, the only examples of high-relief carving in the whole site. The remains of a stone wall of the Inca period cut across a number of the carvings, indicating a pre-Inca date. These include two parallel channels, between and alongside them there are smaller channels cut in zigzag patterns, giving rise to the local name for this feature, El Dorso de la Serpiente.

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At the highest point is Coro de los Sacerdotes, which consists of a deeply cut circle with triangular and rectangular niches cut into its walls. Further to the east is a structure which probably represents the head of a feline. Most of the southern face of the rock was originally dominated by a series of at least five temples or sanctuaries, of which only the niches cut into their walls survive. The Casa Colonial is situated on an artificial platform at the foot of the rock. Excavations have revealed evidence of Inca and pre-Inca structures here, and so it is known as the Plaza of the Three Cultures. The house of the colonial period, only the stone lower walls of which survive, is in characteristic Arab-Andalusian style, with a central open courtyard.

Away from the rocky hill, there are a number of isolated small buildings surrounded by perimeter walls, a typical Inca form known as kancha. One of these contains two buildings and another five, arranged in a U-pattern. The main administrative-religious centre of the Inca period is situated on a series of three artificial platforms to the south of the rock. The main feature is an enormous building known as the Kallanka; it is on the lowest platform and faces the ceremonial area on the rock across a spacious plaza.

To the west of the Kallanka and on the second platform is a group of at least twelve large or medium-sized houses, laid out in H-shape, provisionally known as the Akllawasi. These are interpreted as remains of the textiles woven for ritual purposes or exchange by the Virgins of the Sun, whose name akllas is given to this group. On the third platform there is a group of seven Inca houses disposed round an open space on an artificial mound.

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