Information about Quetzaltenango

Quetzaltenango is a city and also the capital of the Department of Quetzaltenango located in the Republic of Guatemala, noted for its remarkable historical importance and its cultural richness and recognized for being an educational city, it is also a Guatemalan tourist destination for its well-preserved neoclassical architecture Roman. It is also popularly known as "Xelajú" or simply "Xela" (pronounced as shelajú and shela, respectively).

The city is located 206 km northwest of Guatemala City, in a mountainous valley in the western highlands of the country with an average altitude of 2,333 m a.s.l. n. m.. It has a population of 190,000 inhabitants but considering its metropolitan area it reaches a total of 629,214, which makes it the third most populous urban agglomeration in the country, only surpassed by the Metropolitan Area of ??Guatemala and the Metropolitan Conurbation of Las Verapaces, In addition, due to its importance in the sector, the city is located within the 20 most important cities in Guatemala.

?

History of Quetzaltenango

The city of Quetzaltenango has been one of the scenarios where different historical events have taken place for the department. This is because during the time of the Conquest, it functioned as a fort of resistance to the Hispanic invasion.

Later, on October 29, 1825, Decree No. 63 of the National Assembly was established, in which it obtained the title of city. However, and despite being approved by the then Congress of the Republic, said decree entered into force until November 12 of that same year.