Santa Cruz Verapaz () is a town and
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
Guatemalan department of
Alta Verapaz
Alta Verapaz () is a department in the north central part of Guatemala. The capital and chief city of the department is Cobán. Verapaz is bordered to the north by El Petén, to the east by Izabal, to the south by Zacapa, El Progreso, and ...
. The municipality is situated at 1406 metres above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...
. It has a population of 32,042 (2018 census) and covers an area of 99.9 km². The annual festival is May 1-May 5.
History
Friars Juan de Torres,
Pedro de Angulo and
Luis de Cancer,
O.P. founded the settlement of "Santa Cruz de Santa Elena", in the region of the Munchú territory, and therefore, the town was originally known as "Santa Cruz Munchú". The town was established on 3 May 1543, according to the minutes from 1 May 1546 taken in Ciudad Real de
by Juan Matalbatz, governor of the region at the time.
The Catholic church was built in the 16th century and therefore it has a high historical value; like the one in
Rabinal
Rabinal is a small town, with a population of 15,157 (2018 census),Citypopulation.de
Population of cities & to ...
in
Baja Verapaz Department, it was one of the first Catholic temples built in the region during the
Capitulaciones de Tezulutlán. The prestiberium design was magnificent, but it has been damaged over the centuries by the constant seismic events that affect the Guatemalan territory.
By an executive order of the Secretary of Education, the church was named as National Historic place on 12 July 1970.
Administrative division
Santa Cruz Verapaz has an urban and a rural area.
Territory configuration
Climate
Santa Cruz Verapaz has
temperate climate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...
(
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 ...
: ''Cfb'').
Geographic location
See also
*
Alta Verapaz Department
Alta Verapaz () is a department in the north central part of Guatemala. The capital and chief city of the department is Cobán. Verapaz is bordered to the north by El Petén, to the east by Izabal, to the south by Zacapa, El Progreso, and Baj ...
References
External links
Muni in Spanish
{{coord, 15, 22, N, 90, 26, W, display=title, region:GT_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki
Municipalities of the Alta Verapaz Department