Day 2
Travel log
Independence tour
LAS CAMPANAS HILL
On the outskirts of the city of Queretaro, we find a hill where a very important historical event took place: the execution of the then emperor, Maximilian of Habsburg (Austria). That is the reason the Campanas Hill has become one of the city’s most emblematic points of interest.
Five years of French intervention and the imposition of a foreign ruler came to an end when the republican army, lead by General Mariano Escobedo, cornered the emperor Maximilian and the few troops he had left. In May of 1867, on the skirts of the Campanas Hill, Maximilian turned his sword in, a surrendering symbol. He was taken prisoner along with his generals Miguel Miramon, a former president, and Tomas Mejia. All three of them were tried by a military court and were sentenced to death by a firing squad.
At the base of the Hill, visitors will find a commemorative plate indicating the exact place where Maximilian turned himself in to Escobedo’s army. In addition, at the top of the hill, there is a beautiful chapel made of pink quarry built in honor of Maximilian several years after his death. Those interested in finding out more about the events that took place here, can take a guided tour with an expert that will share details, anecdotes and other interesting facts.
The Campanas Hill also offers a space for those looking to get away from the city’s hustle and bustle; its National Park includes large open spaces where people can spend a pleasant time, relax or exercise. Culture is also present at Campanas Hill: the museum named “The Magic of the Past” is open to welcome all those wishing to learn more about Queretaro’s history in an interactive and fun way. The museum also offers classes and workshops.
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LA RESTAURACION MUSEUM
It is part of the premises of the Capuchin Convent, built during the second decade of the eighteenth century and which over the years also functioned as a barracks, the last prison of Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg, house-room, commercial academy and government offices. The space that occupies was constructed exprofeso with a design of the architect Ignacio Mariano de las Casas and bachiller José Torres Vergara.
It opened its doors on August 14, 2003 as a tourist attraction and cultural site in which important aspects of the history of Querétaro and the country in general can be known. Among the pieces exhibited in his six permanent rooms are the Republican National Coat of Arms corresponding to 1873, an oil portrait of Don Juan Caballero y Osío (18C), a painting referring to Maximilian's surrender at Cerro de las Campanas ( 1945), the plane of the city of Queretaro of 1796 and another oil portrait of Don Benito Juarez (former Mexican president).
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PANTHEON OF THE INDEPENDENCE HEROS
A permanent mausoleum to those who fought to give us a homeland, it is a space where rest in peace Doña Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, her husband Don Miguel Domínguez, Epigmenio González and Don Ignacio Pérez, important figures of the Independence of Mexico.
AQUEDUCT
Symbol of the city since it was completed in 1735. Its monumental aqueduct has 1,280 m long and a maximum height of 28.42 m, with 74 arcs, similar to the Roman constructions of its type. Its original function? Provide Querétaro with the water that passed for years, from the glen to the multiple fountains irrigated by the city through this building. This aqueduct keeps a legend. It is said that it was a Land Lord who felt in love with a nun and built this aqueduct at the request of her.
