The Municipal Archive in the Fundación Casa de los Tres Mundos is one of the few in Nicaragua that has survived various natural and human-caused disasters. Today it features a collection of records from the city councils, the prefecture and court, mainly from Granada for dates starting in 1857.
The full name is “Archivo de la Prefectura de la Municipalidad de Granada, Macario Álvarez” and apart from the “Archivo Nacional” in Managua and the “Archivo Diocesano” in León it is the only one that contains primary sources of Nicaraguan history. It incorporates documents of the offices of the municipal councils, the prefecture and the court.
History of the Archive
The documents of the archive were preserved in 1992, thanks to the cooperation of the Archivo Nacional de Nicaragua, the Dirección de Archivos Estatales de España and the British Embassy, who contributed the preservation equipment and the technical advice by an archive specialist. This way they helped to recover valuable historical documents of the only city in the continent that continues to extend its roots in the same place where it was founded in 1524 by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba.
Unfortunately in November 1856 the work of decades was destroyed by the fire started by William Walker. As only a few documents of the municipality of Granada survived, the material kept today dates from 1857 and later.
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Information service
The historical-municipal archive of Granada offers information in form of a digitalized database, which users can use as a source for studies in demography, trade, customs, economy, finances, national and municipal rights, education, urban development, elections, territorial borders, agriculture, religion, history and more.
opening hours
Citizens and visitors can consult the documents supported by skilled staff in attendance Monday to Friday from 8 in the morning to 12 noon and from 2 to 5 in the afternoon.
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Cooperation with the Casa de los Tres Mundos
With the aim of contributing to the development of historical research, the Casa de los Tres Mundos manages a collection of 1,653 bundles of documents in collaboration with the mayors of Granada since 1995.
Importance of the Archive
Historical research in Nicaragua is quite difficult as there is a lack of good organized libraries and archives. Much of the written material about the country was destroyed by natural causes such as earthquakes, volcanic outbreaks, fires, hurricanes and the tropic climate as well as reasons caused by humans. A few local archives survived, among which is the archive of Granada.
