Santo Domingo

**Santo Domingo de Guzmán**, or just **Santo Domingo**, is the capital of the Dominican Republic and is its largest city. It is the oldest European city in the Americas where people have been living since it was founded at the end of the 15th century.

## Geography

The city is at the mouth of the Ozama River, on the Caribbean coast. The city has the Santo Domingo province to the east, north and west. To the south is the Caribbean Sea.

The eastern limit of the city is the Ozama River and the northern limit is the Isabela River, a tributary of the Ozama. The western limit is a long street, Gregorio Luperón Avenue.

The average temperature (25.7 °C) varies little in the city. December and January are the coolest months and July and August are the warmest. Some years, hurricanes affect the city because it is in the Caribbean where hurricanes are common from June to November.

## Population

In 2010, the municipality had a total population of 965,040: 460,903 men and 504,137 women. The urban population was 100% of the total population.

Santo domingo has a very diverse population, but it is mainly composed of blacks and mulattoes (85%), with a significant white minority in the upper class districts (15%).

## History

The city was first founded on the east side of River Ozama by Bartholomew Columbus, brother of Christopher, with the name of _La Nueva Isabela_ (The New Isabela); La Isabela was a town founded on the northern coast of the island by Christopher Columbus. The name was soon changed to Santo Domingo.

After a hurricane in 1502 destroyed the city, the new governor of the island Nicolás de Ovando built it again but on the west side of the river and with the new name of Santo Domingo.

Santo Domingo was the first capital of the Spanish colonies in the Américas. It became the starting point of most of the Spanish expeditions of exploration and conquest of the other Caribbean islands and the adjacent lands in the continent. There are still many buildings from that time (16th century) and part of the old walls.

In 1930, the city of Santo Domingo was almost completely destroyed by a hurricane called _San Zenón_. Rafael Trujillo rebuilt the city and named it Ciudad Trujillo after himself. After his assassination in 1961, Ciudad Trujillo became again Santo Domingo. The 1966 constitution named the city Santo Domingo de Guzmán.

In 2001, the Santo Domingo Province was created with much of the area of the old Distrito Nacional ("National District"). With that division, many parts of the old city are now part of the Santo Domingo Province and not of the city of Santo Domingo de Guzmán. But they are still part of the metropolitan area of the city (the Greater Santo Domingo). The people that live in this Greater Santo Domingo are _capitaleños_ (women are _capitaleñas_), even if they do not live in the National District.

### Zona Colonial

The old section of the city is known as _Zona Colonial_ ("Colonial Zone") or _Ciudad Colonial_ ("Colonial City"). The Colonial Zone, bordered by the Ozama River, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990. Some of the old buildings in this zone are
- _Cathedral of Saint Mary_, the first cathedral in America.
- _Alcázar de Colón_ ("Diego Columbus' Palace") where Diego Columbus, son of Christopher, lived when he was governor of the Spanish colony.
- _Monasterio de San Francisco_ ("St. Francis Monastery"), an church and place where monks lived (monastery); now is partially destroyed.
- _Hospital de San Nicolás de Bari_ ("St. Nicholas of Bari Hospital"), the first hospital in the Americas; now is partially destroyed.
- _Palacio del Gobernador y de la Audiencia_ ("Palace of the Governor and the Court"); now is a museum, _Museo de las Casas Reales_ ("Museum of the Royal Houses").
- _Fortaleza Ozama_ ("Ozama Fortress"), the oldest fort in America.

### Museums

Santo Domingo has several museums, many of them in the Zona Colonial.

- _Alcázar de Colón_ ("Diego Columbus' Palace")
- _Naval Museum of the Atarazanas_
- _Museum of the Casas Reales_ (colonial period)
- _Museum of Duarte_
- _National Museum of Natural History_
- _Museum of the Dominican Man_
- _World of Amber Museum_
- _Modern Art Gallery_
- _National Museum of History and Geography_

### Parks and recreational areas

Santo Domingo has various parks as the _National Botanical Garden_, the _National Zoo_ and the _Mirador Sur Park_.

There are also many small squares as the _Parque Colón_ ("Columbus Park"), in the Zonal Colonial and on the northern side of the cathedral; and the _Parque Independencia_ ("Independence Park"), just outside of the old western wall and where the Founding Fathers of the country (Juan Pablo Duarte, Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and Matías Ramón Mella) are buried.

## Education

There are eighteen universities in Santo Domingo. Established in 1538, Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) was the first university founded in the continent; it is also the only public university in the country and has campuses all over the country.

## Sports

Santo Domingo is home to the Leones del Escogido and Tigres del Licey baseball clubs of the Dominican Winter League. Estadio Quisqueya is the home stadium for both teams. Centro Olimpico Juan Pablo Duarte is the central sports complex of the city, at the center of the city.

## Sister cities

Santo Domingo has sister relationships with many cities worldwide:

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Santo Domingo
- **settlement type**: Capital city of Dominican Republic
- **named for**: Saint Dominic
- **image skyline**: Aerial view Ciudad Colonial Santo Domingo 09 2019 0067.jpg
- **imagesize**: 300px
- **motto**: "Ciudad Primada de América"

- **image shield**: Coat of Arms of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic).svg
- **pushpin map**: Dominican Republic#Caribbean#North America
- **pushpin relief**: 1
- **pushpin map caption**: Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
- **leader title**: Mayor
- **leader name**: Carolina Mejía de Garrigó, Carolina Mejía
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision type1**: Provinces of the Dominican Republic, Province
- **subdivision name1**: Distrito Nacional, National District
- **established title**: Founded
- **established date**: 5 August 1496 ( years ago)
- **established title2**: Founder
- **established date2**: Bartholomew Columbus
- **area total km2**: 104.44
- **area metro km2**: 2696.69
- **elevation m**: 14
- **population total**: 965040
- **total type**: Total
- **population density km2**: auto
- **timezone**: Atlantic Standard Time, AST (UTC -4)
- **area code type**: Area codes
- **area code**: 809, 829, 849
- **postal code type**: Postal codes
- **postal code**: 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional)
- **website**: [http://adn.gob.do/ Ayuntamiento del Distrito Nacional]