There were three attempts to establish a capital before Guatemala City was founded in 1775. The first colonial settlement, called Santiago de los Caballeros Guatemala, was built in 1524 by the conquistador Pedro de Alvarado close to the Cakchiquel settlement of Iximché (near the present day town of Tecpán – see Iximché under The Highlands section). After continuing battles with the Cakchiquel warriors, the capital was relocated in 1527 to the Almolonga Valley, near present-day San Miguel Escobar, between the volcanoes Agua and Fuego until an earthquake destroyed it in 1541. A third capital was then established just a few kilometers away on the present site of la Antigua Guatemala in the Panchoy Valley (see the Antigua section below). Established as the new city in 1543, it was decided to retain the name of Santiago while the former (second) capital was referred to as Ciudad Vieja, or Old City. The new capital grew in wealth, size and prestige, surviving a number of earthquakes until 1773, when it was hit by a huge earthquake and eventually abandoned. The capital moved to its present location while the former capital was thereafter known as la Antigua Guatemala or Old Guatemala.
The capital, Guatemala City lies at the edge of a plateau cut by deep ravines in the Valley of the Hermitage. Few colonial buildings remain but the old quarter, with its low colonial houses, is situated in the northern part of the city. The main plaza, Parque Central lies at its heart and is bordered by the National Palace, the Cathedral, the National Library and an arcade of shops. In the south of the city, close to the airport and the national racecourse, are Parque la Aurora, which contains the zoo, the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and the Ixchel Museum, housing a good collection of handwoven textiles. Other museums with fine collections include the Popol Vuh Museum (a private collection of Mayan and Spanish colonial art) and the National Museum of Modern Art. Some of the most interesting religious buildings (mainly either neo-classical or Baroque) include the 17th-century Hermitage of El Carmen and the churches of La Merced, Santo Domingo, Santuario Expiatorio, Las Capuchinas, Santa Rosa and Capilla de Yurrita (built in the first half of the 20th century).