Panamá Viejo, founded by Pedro Arias Dávila, better known as Pedrarias Dávila, on Augst 15th

Of 1519, in an area originally occupied by an aboriginal community; for this reason, in this site has
been found archaeological evidence of pre-Columbian cultures.

This city replaced Santa María la Antigua del Darién and Acla and became the capital of

Castilla del Oro.

From this place departed the expeditions that conquered the Inca Empire of Peru in 1532 andIt
was a stopover on one of the most important trade routes in the American continent, which
carried to the famous fairs of Nombre de Dios and Portobelo, where most of the gold and silver
extracted from the mines that the Spanish exploited in America transited.

By 1541 the city had about 4,000 of population; between Spanish, indigenous and African slaves.
In 1607, the city had several streets, a main square and two other squares.

The city was hit by at least three devastating fires and an earthquake, in 1621. It was also
besieged, on several occasions, by pirates. The worst of these sieges was the commander by
British pirate Henry Morgan, who arrived at the site on January 28, 1671 and remained there Until
February 24. It was the Spaniards themselves by order of Governor Juan Pérez de Guzmán, and
not Morgan, those who destroyed the city by blowing up the explosives depots.

In search of a new location, which would allow the construction of a better defensive system, the
city was moved to a nearby peninsula, located about ten kilometers further southwest, in what
today is considered as CASCO ANTIGUO of Panama City. The original site was abandoned for
several years, until its ruins were gradually recovered, the territorial extension between 5000 to
8000 meters.

In 1995, the Patronato de Panamá Viejo was created, a non-profit foundation, which for several
years he has been working on the restoration and conditioning of the place. Currently, at side of
the old Plaza Mayor, you can visit the Plaza Mayor Site Museum, which It has different rooms to
tell its story over 1500 years and a model that recreates the extent of the Old city.

The site has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city. This museum is divided
into three layers: the pre-Hispanic, the colonial and the modern.

This place was declared a Historical Monument in 1976. Unesco declared it as World Heritage Site
in 2003.