Theme Week Havana on Cuba

Saturday, 20 October 2012 - 01:37 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage
Reading Time:  9 minutes

Havana Collage © Vitalia

Havana Collage © Vitalia

Havana (La Habana, officially Villa San Cristóbal de La Habana) is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of 728.26 km2 (281.18 sq mi) – making it the largest city by area, the most populous city, and the fourth largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbours: Marimelena, Guanabacoa and Atarés. The sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay. The current mayor is Marta Hernández from the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). In 2009, the city/province had the 3rd highest income in the country. The city attracts over a million tourists annually, the Official Census for Havana reports that in 2010 the city was visited by 1,176,627 international tourists, a +20.0% increase from 2005. The historic centre was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. Moreover, the city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and monuments.

Havana, by far the leading cultural centre of the country, offers a wide variety of features that range from museums, palaces, public squares, avenues, churches, fortresses (including the largest fortified complex in the Americas dating from the 16th through 18th centuries), ballet and from art and musical festivals to exhibitions of technology. The restoration of Old Havana offered a number of new attractions, including a museum to house relics of the Cuban revolution. The government placed special emphasis on cultural activities, many of which are free or involve only a minimal charge. Contemporary Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one: Old Havana, Vedado, and the newer suburban districts. The city is the center of the Cuban Government, and home to various ministries, headquarters of businesses and over 90 diplomatic offices. Old Havana, with its narrow streets and overhanging balconies, is the traditional centre of part of Havana’s commerce, industry, and entertainment, as well as being a residential area.

Havana Collage © Vitalia National Capitol building © Yomangani Paseo del Prado © flickr.com - Hydn Blackey Neo-baroque apartment building © flickr.com - Phil Guest San Lázaro Street © flickr.com - Randolph Croft Old Havana by night © flickr.com - Gabriel Rodríguez/cc-by-sa-2.0 Havana © Vgenecr/cc-by-sa-3.0 Hotel Habana Libre © Sandino235/cc-by-2.5 Hotel Habana Riviera © flickr.com - Leandro Neumann Ciuffo/cc-by-2.0 Hotel Nacional de Cuba © Jongleur100 John Lennon Memorial in Cuba © Christopher Hughes/cc-by-sa-3.0-us Melia Cohiba Hotel © flickr.com - Phil Guest/cc-by-sa-2.0 Cine Yara © Sandino235/cc-by-sa-2.5 FOCSA Building, the tallest building in Cuba © Hmaglione10/cc-by-sa-4.0 Old Square © flickr.com - Brian Snelson
<
>
FOCSA Building, the tallest building in Cuba © Hmaglione10/cc-by-sa-4.0
To the north and west a newer section, centred on the uptown area known as Vedado, has become the rival of Old Havana for commercial activity and nightlife. Centro Habana, sometimes described as part of Vedado, is mainly a shopping district that lies between Vedado and Old Havana. The Capitolio Nacional building marks the beginning of Centro Habana, a working-class neighborhood. Chinatown and the Real Fabrica de Tabacos Partagás, one of Cuba’s oldest cigar factories is located in the area.

A third Havana is that of the more affluent residential and industrial districts that spread out mostly to the west. Among these is Marianao, one of the newer parts of the city, dating mainly from the 1920s. Some of the suburban exclusivity was lost after the revolution, many of the suburban homes having been nationalized by the Cuban government to serve as schools, hospitals, and government offices. Several private country clubs were converted to public recreational centres. Miramar, located west of Vedado along the coast, remains Havana’s exclusive area; mansions, foreign embassies, diplomatic residences, upscale shops, and facilities for wealthy foreigners are common in the area. The International School of Havana is located in the Miramar neighborhood.

In the 1980s many parts of Old Havana, including the Plaza de Armas, became part of a projected 35-year multimillion-dollar restoration project, for Cubans to appreciate their past and boost tourism. In the past ten years, with the assistance of foreign aid and under the support of local city historian Eusebio Leal Spengler, large parts of Habana Vieja have been renovated. The city is moving forward with their renovations, with most of the major plazas (Plaza Vieja, Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza de San Francisco and Plaza de Armas) and major tourist streets (Obispo and Mercaderes) near completion.

Read more on CubaHeritage.com – Havana, LonelyPlanet.com – Havana, Wikitravel Havanna and Wikipedia Havana. Photos by Wikipedia Commons.




Recommended posts:

Share this post: (Please note data protection regulations before using buttons)

Valladolid in Castile and León

[caption id="attachment_233592" align="aligncenter" width="590"] City Hall at the Plaza Mayor © xavi lópez/cc-by-sa-3.0-es[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Valladolid is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 people (2021 est.). The city is located roughly in the centre of the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula's Meseta Central, at the conflu...

[ read more ]

Kontorhaus District in Hamburg

Kontorhaus District in Hamburg

[caption id="attachment_209920" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Sprinkenhof © Dietmar Rabich/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Kontorhaus District is the southeastern part of Altstadt, Hamburg, between Steinstraße, Meßberg, Klosterwall and Brandstwiete. The streetscape is characterised by large office buildings in the style of Brick Expressionism of the early 20th century. The Kontorhaus District consists of 12 Kontor buildings. Since 5 July 2015, parts of the Kontorhaus district and the adjacent Speicherstadt distr...

[ read more ]

North Miami Beach

North Miami Beach

[caption id="attachment_205919" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Art Deco Hotel in the North Shore Historic District © flickr.com - Phillip Pessar/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]North Miami Beach (commonly referred to as NMB) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Originally named Fulford-by-the-Sea in 1926 after Captain William H. Fulford of the United States Coast Guard, the city was renamed North Miami Beach in 1931. The population is at 46,000. The hurricane of 1926 essentially ended the South Florida real estate boo...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Queensland - Cooktown

Theme Week Queensland - Cooktown

[caption id="attachment_151131" align="aligncenter" width="590"] HM Bark Endeavour replica in Cooktown © John Hill/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Cooktown is a small town at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs in 1770. Both the town and Mount Cook (431 metres or 1,415 feet) which rises up behind the town were named after James Cook. It is the northernmost town on the east coast of Australia and was founded on 25 Oc...

[ read more ]

Musée Picasso in Paris

Musée Picasso in Paris

[caption id="attachment_27503" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Musée Picasso Paris in Hôtel Salé © Pol[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Musée Picasso is an art gallery located in the Hôtel Salé in rue de Thorigny, in the Marais district of Paris dedicated to the work of the artist Pablo Picasso (1881–1973). The hôtel particulier that houses the collection was built between 1656 and 1659 for Pierre Aubert, seigneur de Fontenay, a tax farmer who became rich collecting the gabelle or salt tax (the name of the building means...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Myanmar - Naypyidaw

Theme Week Myanmar - Naypyidaw

[caption id="attachment_196276" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Parliament of Myanmar © panoramio.com - mohigan/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Naypyidaw, officially spelled Nay Pyi Taw, is the capital city of Myanmar and seat of the government of Myanmar. It is administered as the Naypyidaw Union Territory, as per the Constitution. It is unusual among Myanmar's cities, being an entirely planned city outside of any state or region, similar to Canberra in Australia, Brasília in Brazil, Washington, D.C. in the United Sta...

[ read more ]

Smart City

Smart City

[caption id="attachment_196688" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © flickr.com - Wilgengebroed/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]A smart city is an urban area that uses different types of electronic data collection sensors to supply information which is used to manage assets and resources efficiently. This includes data collected from citizens, devices, and assets that is processed and analyzed to monitor and manage traffic and transportation systems, power plants, water supply networks, waste management, law enforcement, info...

[ read more ]

Wynwood Art District in Miami

Wynwood Art District in Miami

[caption id="attachment_223071" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © flickr.com - Dan Lundberg/cc-by-sa-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Wynwood Art District is a district of the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami, Florida. It is home to over 70 galleries, museums and collections and is known for its street art. It is roughly bounded by North 36th Street (US 27) (north), North 20th Street (south), I-95 (west) and Northeast First Avenue (east). It is one of the largest open-air street art installations in the world. The Wynwoo...

[ read more ]

Geneva, city of peace

Geneva, city of peace

[caption id="attachment_148933" align="aligncenter" width="590"] United Nations © Henry Mühlpfordt[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Embedded between nearby Alpine peaks and the hilly terrain of the Jura, the French-speaking city of Geneva lies in the bay where the Rhone leaves Lake Geneva. With its humanitarian tradition and cosmopolitan flair, the European seat of the UNO and headquarters of the Red Cross is known as the "capital of peace". The symbol of the "world’s smallest metropolis" is the "Jet d'eau" – a fountain w...

[ read more ]

São Marcelo Fort in Salvador da Bahia

São Marcelo Fort in Salvador da Bahia

[caption id="attachment_215285" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © JLPizzol/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]São Marcelo Fort (Portuguese: Forte São Marcelo), also known as Forte de Nossa Senhora do Pópulo e São Marcelo or Forte do Mar, is located in Salvador in Bahia, Brazil. It is located in small bit of land off the coast in the Baía de Todos os Santos. Standing on a small bank of reefs about 300 metres (980 ft) from the coast, it is one of two forts separated by water from land in Brazil, the other being the Fort...

[ read more ]

Return to TopReturn to Top
Cheyney Court © geograph.org.uk - Stephen McKay
Winchester in the south of England

Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in...

Freiberg Cathedral and Museum © Unukorno
The university and mining town of Freiberg

Freiberg is a university and mining town in the Free State of Saxony. It is a so-called Große Kreisstadt (large...

Hannover - Great Garden in Herrenhausen Gardens © Arabsalam
Parks and Gardens

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other...

Schließen