Founded in 1524 by Spanish conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, Granada is the oldest city of the Americas on firm land. Prior to being colonized by the Spanish and becoming an important trade route, Granada was the site of bustling indigenous communities. Various exhibits at the Iglesia y Convento San Francisco  “Granada’s Convent-Church of San Francisco: A Must-See Museum” (NicaNews 17) give a glimpse of pre-Columbian indigenous life in the area.

In the colonial era, Granada was highly prized for its natural wealth (gold and fertile soils) and easy access to both coasts (the Caribbean via the Río San Juan ; the Pacific via stagecoach). Repeated attacks by pirates and other would-be rulers attest to its highly sought-after status. In their efforts to secure Granada’s lucrative position for themselves and defend against pirates traveling up the Río San Juan   from the Caribbean, the Spanish constructed an imposing fortress on the southern bank of the river near Lake Nicaragua. Today, the ruins of this fortress can be explored from the town of El Castillo, which can be reached by boat from Granada or by plane from Managua.

Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821 and, after being part of the Central American Federation for a while, became a republic in 1835. In the years that followed, Granada (by that time quite wealthy and conservative) and León (much more liberal on the political spectrum) often engaged in heavy fighting as each city attempted to establish its supremacy over the other. This ongoing battle came to a head during the 1850s when the feud erupted into a full-blown civil war. A compromise in 1857 settled the matter: Managua was chosen as the capital. The differences between Granada and León in political ideology, however, persist today.

Courtesy of Cornelius Vanderbilt, another source of wealth for Granada was the Accessory Transit Company (founded in 1849) that brought thousands of gold-rushers to California. Surprisingly, in the mid-1800s, the quickest route from New York to San Francisco was through Granada via the Caribbean, the San Juan River, Lake Nicaragua, and then by stagecoach to the Pacific Ocean. As Granada became increasingly important, it wasn’t long before the infamous filibuster William Walker —motivated by greed, racism, and León’s call for assistance— set his sights on Nicaragua (after failing in Mexico). After his successful military campaign against Granada in 1855, he ruled Nicaragua from there for the next two years. It wasn’t until neighboring Central American countries themselves felt threatened by Walker’s power-hungry ways that they pitched in, eventually forcing William Walker’s retreat once and for all. Sadly, on his way out, Walker and his cronies burned Granada to the ground, leaving behind many destroyed or damaged colonial buildings and the notorious placard inscribed, “Here Was Granada.” Luckily, a bit of the original colonial Granada —Casa La Gran Francia and the Merced Church— survived. No stranger to calamity, Granada rebuilt and persevered. Walker fled to Honduras where he was executed by a firing squad in Puerto Cortés.