Fraijanes is a town, with a population of 44,117 (2018 census), and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

Guatemala department Guatemala Department is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. The capital is Guatemala City, which also serves as the national capital. The department consists of Guatemala City and several of its suburbs. The department covers a surface are ...

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

. It is known for its fine tasting coffee, which is slightly more acidic than that of

Antigua Guatemala Antigua Guatemala (), commonly known as Antigua or La Antigua, is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala. The city was the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1543 through 1773, with much of its Baroque-influenced architec ...

History

Archbishop

Pedro Cortés y Larraz Pedro Cortés y Larraz ( Belchite, Zaragoza, 6 July 1712 - Zaragoza, 7 July 1787) was Archbishop of Guatemala between 1767 and 1779 and bishop of Tortosa between 1780 and 1786. Biography Early life Graduated with a doctorate in Spain when he ...

wrote in his book ''Descripción Geográfico-Moral De La Diócesis de Guatemala'' (''Moral and geographic description of Guatemala Diocesis'') that, after the Jesuits were expelled from the Spanish colonies in 1767, they left behind a rich hacienda in the area where the modern Fraijanes municipality stands. It was given to two secular priests called Juan Milán and Juan Álvarez. These priests earned the respect and love of the people from the area and, in 1860, the region was renamed "Frailes Juanes" in their honor. Eventually, the name changed into "Fray Juanes" and finally into "Fraijanes".

Jesuit hacienda

In 1646, Fraijanes had been given to the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

to establish a doctrine; there is no religious evidence left in the ruins, making it difficult to assign them to a regular order in particular. The work from Cortés y Larraz shows that the area belonged to Jesuits. Another version suggests that the ruins are from a rich Spanish hacienda and base the assumption on the presence of a tunnel that connects the main residence to a small church. There are several legends about the ruins. The main one is called «La Cueva del Negro» ("The Black Man Cave") which tells the story of a black slave who escaped and sought refuge in the abandoned hacienda. At first, he survived by harvesting corn and hunting small animals. Eventually, loneliness drove him mad and turned into a terrible cannibal who tormented the nearby settlements until a peasant killed him.

Climate

Fraijanes has a

subtropical highland climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Cwb'').

Government and infrastructure

Pavon Prison Pavón or Pavon can refer to: Animals *''Doxocopa pavon'', a brush-footed butterfly commonly known as the pavon *Horned guan (Spanish, ''pavón'') *Peacock bass (''Cichla''), also known as the pavon Places *Pavón, Costa Rica, a town in Puntaren ...

, Pavoncito Prison and other units of the

Dirección General del Sistema Penitenciario de Guatemala The Dirección General del Sistema Penitenciario de Guatemala (DGSP "Prison System of Guatemala") is the prison system of Guatemala, headquartered in Zone 1, Guatemala City, Guatemala. It is a part of the Ministry of the Interior (Guatemala), Minist ...

are in Fraijanes.

Education

The Lycée Français Jules Verne, an elite French international school, is in Fraijanes.Lieu et accès
" '' Lycée Français Jules Verne''. Retrieved on 18 January 2015. "1^a Avenida 2-62 Zona1, Aldea Don Justo Km. 18.5 a San Jose Pinula 01062 Fraijanes"

Geographic location

Notes and references

References

{{Authority control Municipalities of the Guatemala Department 1646 establishments in the Spanish Empire