Cusco

Foundation of the city

Cusco is a city of ancient history. Archaeological excavations have found that people settled in these places for more than 3 thousand years. According to the Spanish chronicler Sarmiento de Gamboa , there is an Indian legend, according to which the founder of the city is the first Inca - Manco Capac . He and his family, having gone away from Lake Titicaca , were looking for a place where the golden staff of Manco Kapak “entered the earth”. This place turned out to be the settlement of the Savaser Panaka tribe, which had to be destroyed, after which nothing prevented the creation of the capital of the Inca empire - Cusco.

The name of the city in translation from Quechua - the official language of the Inca Empire, means the navel of the Earth , that is, in fact - the Center of the World, which is quite consistent with the capital's role. This concept was very common and was central even for the subject of sacred worship - chakans .

On November 15, 1533, an expedition of the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro arrived here and, according to historical tradition, the Spaniards “re-founded” their city.

Cusco with Inca

After Manco Capac, the city was significantly expanded by Pachacuchi . He managed to transform the Kingdom of Cusco from a sleeping city-state into a huge empire. However, archaeological evidence suggests a slower and more organic growth of the city before the Incas - for example, it is believed that the very first settlement was founded here by the people of the Wari tribe. Pachacuti built several palaces and fortresses, renewed the Temple of the Sun , now known as Koricancha .

The city consisted of two sectors - Upper Cuzco and Lower Cuzco, later they were divided by walls into four districts: Chinchasuyu (NW), Antisuyu (NE), Kuntisuyu (SW) and Kollasuyu (SE). From each district led the road to the appropriate part of the empire. Upper Cusco at the beginning of the XX century were the parishes of San Cristobal and San Blas; Lower Cusco - all blocks on the right bank of the Watanai River. These two quarters divided the road Antisuyu. The most important area was called Kolkampat, there were also areas of Cantokpata (“Clove beds”), Pumakurka, Tokokachi, located on the right bank of the Kkolkchechak stream (“Golden Bridge”), Munaisenka, Rimakpampa (“Talking square” where orders were announced), Pumakchupan Puma's Tail), Koiyankachi (village 500 meters away), Chokilchaka, Picchu, Kilipata, Karmenkka (the road to Chinchasuyu left it), Uakapunka (“Gate of the Temple”).

The governing person of each region of the empire was to build a house in the corresponding district of Cusco and live part of the year in the capital.

After Pachacuti, when Inka was dying, his title passed to one of his sons, and his property went to other relatives. Therefore, each title holder of the Inca had to build a new house and, accordingly, acquire new lands for the empire.

Andean Indians still leave their homes and build new ones after the wedding, even if there is no one left in the old house.

Not far from Cusco, there is Moray , another monument of the Incan civilization with a large “amphitheater”, which in reality was an agricultural terrace of ancient origin.

In the center of the city were the houses of the Incas, surrounded by them by Ayla - the houses of the vassals belonging to this Inca palace:

• The first palaces may have been Kolkampata - the palaces of Manco Capac and Sinchi Roca , at the beginning of the 20th century their place was occupied by the residence of the Italian merchant Cesar Lomelini. Then the 60-meter facade and part of the granite wall with a doorway and with watchtowers on the sides (two to the left and five to the right of the door) in excellent condition were still intact. These palaces overlooked the square of San Cristobal.
• Viracocha Palace occupied the cathedral and the Triumphal Chapel.
• Palace Vaina Kapak - " Amarukancha " (House of the Serpent) - was occupied by the University and the Society of the Jesuits .
• In the palace of Vaskar is located the covered gallery de Carrizo (de Carrizo).
• Pachacutec Palace - located on Calle del Triunfo, 38. The mansion in 1905 belonged to Don Thomas González Martínez. In the outer wall was a unique twelve-sided stone .
• On the same street, house number 116, owned by Madame Juan Aranibar, was previously the Inca Yupanqui Palace.
• Portal de Panes took the place of the Inca Roca Palace.
• The monastery and temple of St. Domingo is located on the site of the Incan Temple of the Sun, Koricancha .
• At the lower sections of the monastery of St. Domingo, there was a well-known workshop for the production of threads and fabrics of Aaukpint.
• The Monastery of Saint Catalina took the place of the House of the Virgins of the Sun.
• The Armas , Regosicho and San Francisco Squares previously formed a single square where the main public holidays dedicated to the Sun were celebrated.
• Tupac Amaru II was quartered in the Armas Square by the Spaniards.

Cusco of the colonial period

The first Spaniards appeared in the city on November 15, 1533 . Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro , according to official tradition, re-founded Cusco in 1534 . Many of the buildings built after the Spanish conquest of Peru are made in Spanish traditions with an admixture of Incan architecture; mainly in Santa Clara and San Blas counties. The Spaniards adopted the structure of the old Inca city, built churches on the site of the Incas churches, and housing for the conquerors on the site of the palaces. During the colonial period, Cusco was a prosperous city thanks to agriculture, mining and trade with Spain. Many churches and monasteries were built, as well as a cathedral , a university, and an archdiocese . Often, Spanish buildings were located in the neighborhood and were even built directly on the massive stone walls built by the Incas.

The prefecture building in which Francisco Pizarro lived was also donated to the local municipality. In the mansion de Arinas lived Gonzalo Pizarro . It is believed that monastery Valverde and his brother lived at number 55 on Piazza San Francisco. Four coats of arms were attached to the staircase, one of which had the following motto: "Virtue does good to me for what strength will not give." On the street Coca, number 46, in the house of Señora Antonio Munis Castro previously lived the famous historian Inca Garcilaso de la Vega .

In 1590, 74977 Indians lived in the province of Cusco, who paid an annual fee of 380,835 pesos. ^[2]

Cusco Nowadays

In 1950, an earthquake occurred, which severely damaged the Dominican monastery and the Church of St. Dominic, which was built on the basis of Korikanchi (Temple of the Sun). Inca architecture, on the contrary, successfully survived an earthquake. At first, it was believed that many of the old Inca walls were lost, but it turned out that the Korkikancha granite walls were preserved, as were many of the walls throughout the city. Some ^{[ who? ]} they wanted to restore the constructions of the colonial period, however, part of the inhabitants of Cuzco demanded that the walls be visible. Thus, tourists from all over the world were given the opportunity to see ancient buildings in the heart of a big city. The 1950 earthquake was the second to destroy the Dominican monastery, the first one occurred in 1650 .

It should be noted that in our days Cusco received two attractions that distinguish it from a number of other South American cities. One of them - geoglyphs on the slopes of the surrounding mountains, which arose by the Peruvian army in the middle of the XX century. The second - the statue of Christ - a gift to the city of the second half of the XX century. It is slightly smaller than its famous predecessor from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil , but Cusco is also small.

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  Ancient Cusco

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  Old Cusco

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  Masonry in Saksayuaman

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  Stone with 12 corners accurately embedded in the wall

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  Statue of Christ in Cusco

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  Church Kompania

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  View of Cusco on the background of geoglyphs on the mountain slopes

Museums

• Pre-Columbian Museum of Art

Cusco also has many other museums, including the Machu Picchu Museum ( Museo Casa Concha ) and the Inca Museum ( Museo Inka ).

The city is located in the Urubamba Valley in the Andes at an altitude of 3400 meters above sea level.

In terms of the ancient part of the city resembles the body of a puma . So, there are names Pumakchuku - “puma tail”, Guacaypata - “puma’s body”. The head of the puma is located on the territory of Saksauaman , a city fortress whose walls are made in the form of teeth.

The football club from Cusco - Cienciano - despite the fact that it has never been the champion of Peru , went down in history as the winner of the 2003 South American Cup . In the finals of this second most prestigious club tournament in South America (similar to the UEFA European Cup ), Cienciano beat one of the strongest teams in Argentina - River Plate .

• Sechin (Peru)
• Chavinskaya culture
• Mochika
• Tiahuanaco
• Nazca (archaeological culture)
• Wari (culture)
• Chimor
• Inca Empire
• Machu Picchu
• Carnaval de San Pablo

• Kuprієnko S. А. Suspilno-gospodarsky ustrіy іmperії іnkіv Tavantinsuyu: author. dis. on zdobuttya sciences. stage Cand. history Sciences: 07.00.02. (Neopr.) / Kuprienko Sergiy Anatoliyovich; KNU іmenі Taras Shevchenko. - K .: LOGOS, 2013. - 20 p.
• S. Kuprienko. Sources of the 16th — 17th centuries on the history of the Incas: chronicles, documents, letters (Rus.) / Ed. S. A. Kuprienko .. - K .: Vidavets Kuprienko S. A., 2013. - 418 p. - ISBN 978-617-7085-03-3 .
• Pachacuti Yamki Salkamaiva , Kuprienko S. А. Report on the antiquities of this kingdom of Peru (Rus.) / Transl. S. A. Kuprienko .. - K .: Vidavets Kuprienko S. A., 2013. - 151 p. - ISBN 978-617-7085-09-5 .
• Talakh V.N. , Kuprienko S.A. America is original. Sources on the history of Maya, Nahua (Asteks) and Incas (Rus.) / Ed. V.N. Talakh, S.A. Kuprienko .. - K .: Vidavets Kupriinko S. A., 2013. - 370 p. - ISBN 978-617-7085-00-2 .
• Hildebrando Fuentes . El Cusco y sus Ruinas. Tanahuantinsuyoc kapacllacta. - Lima, 1905.
• Tyurin, E. A. , Zubarev, V. G., Butovsky, A. Yu. , “A History of Ancient Central and South America . ”

In Russian

• City above the mountains (article in the magazine "Around the World", September 1981)
• A. Skromnitsky. Genealogy of the Incas (by Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa)

In English

• Cusco (Antonio Giterres, Inca Land Geometry Step by Step)
• Municipal Council of the Province of Cusco
• A collection of photos of Cusco and Peru from davidmetraux.com
• Inca Trails at Machu Picchu