Museo Naval Atarazanas Reales CCSD 08 10 2018 786

Museo Naval Atarazanas Reales CCSD 08 10 2018 812

The Reales Atarazanas (Royal Shipyards) is a waterside building that housed the shipyards, warehouses, customs house and tax offices of the old port of

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. It was the property of the Spanish Crown. Begun in 1509, the Atarazanas is the oldest building of its type still standing in America, and one of a handful remaining in the Spanish world, amongst which are the Atarazanas Reales de Barcelona, in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, the Atarazanas Reales de Sevilla, in

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, the Atarazanas del Grao in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

and the Royal Dockyard in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. The Atarazanas building is part of Colonial City of Santo Domingo

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, and after restoration in 2018, today houses the ''Museo de las Atarazanas Reales'', which reopened in December 2019 and exhibits artifacts recovered from

underwater archaeology Underwater archaeology is archaeology practiced underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology, it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras. Its acceptance has ...

and other artifacts from colonial shipwrecks around Hispaniola island and the naval history of the Dominican Republic.

Purposes

Galleon replica Museo Atarazanas Reales CCSD 12 2018 4673

In addition to serving as warehouses, the complex also housed the Santo Domingo office of the Casa de la Contratación, headquartered in

. Thus, the Atarazanas also served as the first customs and tax house of the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

. Management was contracted by the Crown to the powerful

Welser Welser was a German banking and merchant family, originally a patrician family based in Augsburg and Nuremberg, that rose to great prominence in international high finance in the 16th century as bankers to the Habsburgs and financiers of C ...

banking family of Augsburg, which made use of the Atarazanas in their failed endeavor to colonize Venezuela.

Construction

Construction began in 1509, and ended in 1541. The brick building contains three parallel, barrel vaulted naves of substantial size, although the north nave (which was temporarily given a flat roof) was finally vaulted as a result of a 1972 restoration. The central nave is slightly wider than the two adjoining ones. In the 18th century, the columned entrance portico, which fronts only the first two naves, was added. Its five stone columns support four brick arches of Moorish influence.

Location

Reopening Museo Atarazanas Reales CCSD 12 2019 0691

The Reales Atarazanas is located north of the

Alcázar de Colón The Alcázar de Colón, or Columbus Alcazar is the first fortified European palace built in the Americas. It is located in the Dominican Republic's colonial area of Santo Domingo city, and forms part of the Ciudad Colonial UNESCO's World Heritage ...

in the Colonial City of Santo Domingo. The building in this small neighborhood contained offices and storage spaces where the mercantile activity of the city was carried out, and where the expeditions to the American mainland were stocked with provisions before their departure. The main street is Calle de las Atarazanas (Atarazanas Street) which begins at the riverside Puerta de las Atarazanas (Atarazanas Gate), which is believed to have been used exclusively for the Atarazanas. It was reconstructed in the 1970s and restored between 2014 and 2018 at a cost of million. Today houses the ''Museo de las Atarazanas Reales'' (MAR), which reopened on December 12, 2019 and exhibits artifacts recovered from

and other artifacts from colonial shipwrecks around Hispaniola island and the naval history of the Dominican Republic.El tesoro subacuático es expuesto en el Museo de las Atarazanas Reales
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References

External links

{{coord, display=title Buildings and structures in Santo Domingo Tourist attractions in Santo Domingo