Intramuros

Intramuros (Latin for "inside the walls") is the 0.67-square-kilometer (0.26 sq mi) historic
walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the
Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila.[2]
 Intramuros
District of Manila and Historic Walled City

Clockwise, from top left: Manila Cathedral, Baluarte de San Diego, Plaza San Luís Complex, Palacio del
Gobernador, Fort Santiago, San Agustin Church

Logo of the Intramuros Administration

Nickname(s): Old Manila; the Walled City

Motto(s): Insigne y siempre leal
Distinguished and ever loyal

Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
 Intramuros

Coordinates: 14°35′29″N 120°58′25″E (https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Intramuros

&params=14.59147_N_120.97356_E_dim:30_region:PH_type:landmark)

Country Philippines
Region National Capital Region
City Manila
Congressional District 5th District of Manila
Settled June 12, 1571
Founded by Miguel López de Legazpi
Government
• Administrator of Intramuros Guiller Asido
Area
• Total 0.67 km2 (0.26 sq mi)
Population (2015) [1]
• Total 5,935
• Density 8,900/km2 (23,000/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+08:00 (Philippine Standard Time)
Zip codes 1002
Area codes 2
Website intramuros.gov.ph (http://intramuros.gov.ph/)

Present-day Intramuros comprises a centuries-old historic district, entirely surrounded by

fortifications, that was considered at the time of the Spanish Empire to be the entire City of
Manila. Other towns and arrabales (suburbs) located beyond the walls that are now
districts of Manila were referred to as extramuros, Latin for "outside the walls",[3][4] and
were independent towns that were only incorporated into the city of Manila during the
early 20th century. Intramuros served as the seat of government of the Captaincy General of
the Philippines, a component realm of the Spanish Empire, housing the colony's governor-
general from its founding in 1571 until 1865, and the Real Audiencia of Manila until the end
of Spanish rule during the Philippine Revolution of 1898.
The walled city was also considered the religious and educational center of the Spanish
East Indies. The original campuses of the University of Santo Tomas, the oldest university
in Asia, and the Ateneo de Manila, were in Intramuros before transferring in 1927 and 1932
respectively; today the area still contains the main campuses of the University of the City of
Manila, the Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Mapúa University, Philippine Nautical Training
Colleges, the Colegio de Santa Rosa, and the Manila High School.[5] Intramuros was also an
economic center; its port in what is now Plaza Mexico was the Asian hub of the Manila
galleon trade, carrying goods to and from Acapulco in what is now Mexico.

Construction of the Spanish walled city began under the orders of the Spanish imperial
government in the late 16th century to protect the city from foreign invasions, replacing the
old prehispanic settlement of Maynila along the shores of the Manila Bay, by the entrance
to the Pasig River. Near the mouth of the Pasig River is Fort Santiago, which, along with a
series of bulwarks and gates, fortified the city from repeated invasions. During the early
20th century, under the administration of American colonial authorities, land reclamation
and the construction of the Manila South Port subsequently moved the coastline westward
and obscured the walls and fort from the bay, while the moat surrounding the fortifications
was drained and turned into a recreational golf course.

The Battle of Manila in 1945 entirely flattened Intramuros. As the occupying Japanese
Imperial Army made their last stand against the victorious efforts of Allied soldiers and
Filipino guerrillas, heavy artillery bombardment destroyed its eight churches, walls,
universities, houses, and government buildings constructed for centuries in Spanish
colonial architecture; only the San Agustín Church, the oldest standing church in the
Philippines, survived intact and was later made a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Though
reconstruction efforts began immediately after the war, many of its original landmarks are
still lost today; under the Intramuros Administration, Intramuros is still in the process of
postwar reconstruction and revival of its cultural heritage.

Intramuros, including Fort Santiago, was designated a National Historical Landmark in

1951. The fortifications of Intramuros, under the name Fortifications of Manila, were
declared National Cultural Treasures by the National Museum of the Philippines, owing to
its historic and cultural significance.[6] San Agustín Church, one of four UNESCO World
Heritage Sites under the entry Baroque Churches of the Philippines, is located within
Intramuros. Several Philippine government agencies are headquartered in Intramuros; the
Bureau of the Treasury is located in the Ayuntamiento, the old municipal hall of Manila,
while the Commission on Elections is housed in an office building at Plaza Roma at the site
of the old governor's palace. Several offices of the Catholic Church, including the
Archdiocese of Manila and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, are also
found at or near Manila Cathedral.

History

City walls

Gates

Present day Intramuros

Structures before and after World War II

Barangays

Intramuros Administration

Gallery

See also

References

External links
Retrieved from
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Last edited 15 days ago by 152.32.107.93