Here are some of the many churches in Nicaragua.
Old cathedral in Managua, it was destroyed by the 1972 earthquake and was never rebuilt despite promises by the government.
Close-up of one of the towers, notice all of the bullet holes.
Picture of the cathedral in 1931.
Cathedral de Granada, Granada's main church. Originally built in 1583, it has been destroyed many times since. This version was built in 1915.
Convent & Museum San Francisco in Granada. Originally constructed in 1585, it was burned to the ground by pirates and later by William Walker. It was rebuilt in 1868 and restored in 1989.
Part of the original adobe wall, inside of the church.
La Capilla Maria Auxilladora, Granada.
Iglesia de Guadalupe, Granada. Originally build as a fort near lake Nicaragua in 1626. The waterline of the lake has since retreated by about 600 meters.
Iglesia de la Merced, Granada. Originally built in 1529, it was destroyed by pirates in 1655 and rebuilt between 1781 and 1783. It was damaged again in 1854 by William Walker, and restored in 1862.
View of Granada from the roof of the church.
Chapel of Spirits, Granada Cemetery.
Iglesia de La Merced, Leon. Originally built in 1615, this version of the church was built in the early 1700's. The church is the home of Leon's patron saint, La Virgen de La Merced. The image was originally from Barcelona, it was brought to the original church in old Leon in 1528. After Volcano Momotombo erupted, old Leon was abandoned and the image was brought here.
Saint Mary of the Grace Cathedral, old Leon. Originally built in 1525 using straw and cane, it was rebuilt using mud walls in 1531. It was destroyed and abandoned like the rest of old Leon during the eruption of Volcano Momotombo. In 2001, during archeological research, the remains of the first three bishops of Nicaragua were found in the principal altar.
Our Lady of La Merced church, old Leon. It was built in 1526 by "mercedarios", monks who followed the virgin Mary. During archeological research in 2000, a crypt with the remains of Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba and Governor Pedrarias Davila was found.
Crypt where the headless body of Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba was found.
Formerly knows as the Basilica de la Asuncion, this is Leon's and Central America's largest cathedral. The cathedral was supposed to be built in Peru, but the architect Diego Jose de Porres Esquivel switched the plans and the cathedral was built in Leon. This is the fourth version of the cathedral, the original 1610 construction was replaced 14 years later by a wood and adobe structure that the pirate William Dampier burned to the ground in 1685. It was rebuilt using adobe, and finally replaced in 1747 by the cathedral that you see now. It was built over a period of more then 100 years using mostly indigenous labor from Subtiava and Posoltega.
Tomb of Leonese (Nicaraguan) poet Ruben Dario. He is guarded by a sorrowful lion, an inscription on the tomb reads: "Nicaragua is created of vigor and glory, Nicaragua is made for freedom"
Ruins of the church San Sebastian in Leon. It is located across the street from a prison that the National Guard used to torture opponents. It was almost completely destroyed by bombs in 1979. This is what remains now.
Inside of the church La Merced, Leon.
Nueva Cathedral in Managua, Nicaragua's newest church. The 63 domes on top represent the 63 Catholic churches in Nicaragua and provide structural support during earthquakes (great feature, since the cathedral sits on top of a fault line). It cost an unbelievable $45 million (I can't help but think half or more of that money was stolen by officials involved in the project). It is probably one of the ugliest churches I've ever seen, using way too much concrete in its construction.
