Perhaps everyone at least once in their life has seen some kind of horror movie in which the walking dead attack people. These sinister dead excite the human imagination. But in fact, mummies do not pose any danger, but have incredible scientific value. In our review, one of the most incredible archaeological finds of our time is the mummies of Guanajuato.
The Mummies of Guanajuato are a collection of naturally mummified bodies buried during an outbreak of cholera in Mexican Guanajuato in 1833. These mummies were discovered in the city's cemetery, making Guanajuato one of the top tourist attractions in Mexico. True, the attraction is very creepy.
Scientists believe that the bodies were exhumed between 1865 and 1958. At that time, a new tax was introduced, according to which the relatives of the deceased had to pay a tax for a place in the cemetery, otherwise the body was exhumed. As a result, ninety percent of the remains were exhumed, because there were few willing to pay such a tax. Of these, only two percent of the bodies were naturally mummified. Mummified bodies, which were kept in a special building at the cemetery, became available to tourists in the 1900s.
Cemetery workers began letting visitors in for a few pesos to enter the building where the bones and mummies were stored. The site was later turned into a museum called El Museo De Las Momias ("Mummy Museum"). A law banning forced exhumation was passed in 1958, but the original mummies are still on display in this museum.
The mummies of the Mexican city of Guanajuato are the result of weather and soil conditions in which mummification occurs. The bodies of dead people who were not taken away for burial by relatives often became public exhibits. During epidemics, bodies were buried immediately after death to prevent the spread of the disease. Scientists believe that some people were buried while still alive, and that is why an expression of horror is imprinted on their faces. But there is another opinion: facial expression is the result of post-mortem processes.
At the same time, it is known that a certain Ignatia Aguilar was indeed buried alive. The woman suffered from a strange disease, due to which her heart stopped several times. During one of the attacks, her heart seemed to stop for more than a day. Believing that Ignatia had died, her relatives buried her. When the exhumation was carried out, it turned out that her body was lying face down, and the woman was biting her hand, and there was baked blood in her mouth.
The museum, which has at least 111 mummies on display, is located directly above the site where the mummies were first discovered. This museum also houses the smallest mummy in the world - the fetus of a pregnant woman who fell victim to cholera. Some of the mummies are exhibited in the preserved clothes in which they were buried. The mummies of Guanajuato are a prominent part of Mexican folk culture, emphasizing the national holiday "Day of the Dead" (El Dia de los Muertos) in the best possible way.
No less interesting and. Scientists still cannot unravel the recipe according to which Pirogov's body was mummified, and people come to church to bow to him like holy relics and ask for help.
The Folk Museum of Guanajuato is located in one of the most beautiful places in the historic part of the city. The museum was opened in 1979 and since then its collection has been constantly updated with new examples of folk art.
The permanent exhibition of the museum presents many objects of national heritage. These are archaeological finds, and samples of fine art, and tools, and household items of local peoples. The pearl of the museum is an extensive collection of miniatures.
Despite the abundance of exhibits, the museum's exposition is organized very compactly, which makes visiting the museum very comfortable.
The museum is open every day, except Sunday and Monday, from ten in the morning to seven in the evening. On Sunday, the museum is open to the public from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Jean Byron House Museum
This museum is a recreated hacienda, a typical building where the wealthy lived during the flourishing silver mining industry. The hacienda was restored in the mid-50s of the last century and today is a good visual example of the lifestyle of its last inhabitants - the artist Jean Byron and her husband Virgil.
The creative inclinations of the inhabitants of the house left a colorful imprint on its decoration. It is furnished with delicate taste. The interior is decorated with original items made of wood and ceramics, paintings, as well as antique furniture. The beautiful garden surrounding the house-museum also pleases with its calm beauty.
The house functions as a museum, which regularly hosts exhibitions. There is also a cultural center where baroque music concerts and various arts and crafts classes are held. Some of the artwork is available for purchase.
Museum of Independence
The Museum of Independence is located in the city center inside a building built in the late eighteenth century by the patron Francisco Miguel Gonzalez.
Previously, there was a prison here, which on one historic Sunday in September 1810 lost all its prisoners as a result of the Grito de Independencia.
In 1985, the building acquired the status of a museum, which currently includes seven permanent exhibitions, including the "Liberation of Prisoners", "Abolition of Slavery", "Judicial Hidalgo", "Perfection of Independence" and others. In addition to expositions, the museum organizes tours, themed film cycles, traveling exhibitions, conferences and concerts.
Mining Museum of San Ramon
The Mining Museum of San Ramon is a public museum dedicated to the region's mining industry and is open to the public. The permanent exhibition includes exhibitions of minerals, old photographs, objects of labor and everyday life of the miners of the county of Valencia.
The oldest exhibits of the museum date back to 1549, when superficial silver deposits were discovered in the county of Valencia, which are still considered one of the richest in the world. Later, the development was also carried out by the mine method. In one of these mines, a separate exposition is arranged. The total length of this mine is five hundred and fifty meters, however, for safety reasons, only the first fifty are allowed to visit.
At the entrance to the excursion mine there is a small restaurant where you can taste national dishes in an appropriate setting.
mummy museum
The Mummy Museum in the Mexican town of Guanajuato invites its visitors to look at the mummified bodies of people, of whom more than a hundred are collected here. The exposition of the museum is evidence of a very unusual attitude towards death. The mummies on display are in very good condition. Mexican mummies differ from Egyptian mummies in that the atmosphere and soils in Mexico are too dry, so the bodies are severely dehydrated, and not specially embalmed.
The museum exhibits 59 mummies that were exhumed between 1865 and 1958. At that time, a law was in force in the country, according to which relatives had to pay a tax for the bodies of their deceased loved ones to rest in the cemetery. And if the family could not pay on time, they would lose the right to a burial place, and the bodies would be removed from the stone tombs. After lying in the dry ground, some of the bodies naturally mummified, and they were kept in a special building at the cemetery.
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, the mummies located there began to attract the attention of tourists, and the cemetery staff began to charge a fee for viewing. In 1969, when the mummies in Guanajuato were put on display in glass cases. And in 2007, the museum's exposition was rearranged into thematic sections. Every year hundreds of thousands of tourists come here, as well as numerous researchers.
Exhacienda San Gabriel de Barrera Museum
The Exhacienda San Gabriel de Barrera Museum is a museum of Mexican gardens. Here you can see Mexican flowers, shrubs and trees. The Exhacienda San Gabriel de Barrera museum is located on a huge Mexican ranch, created in the seventeenth century. Previously, it belonged to the famous Mexican Gabriel Barrera. He gained popularity as a gardener thanks to the cultivation of various plants. These were Mexican flowers, shrubs and trees. Seventeen Barrera gardens have survived to this day.
Visitors to the gardens will be able to see here not only representatives of plants that were grown in the seventeenth century, but also those that are found in Mexico today.
Five gardens are located in the museum in an open area, there are also those that are located indoors. Exhacienda San Gabriel de Barrera is open every day. Visitors are expected from 9 am to 6 pm. For a day of stay on the territory of the museum you will have to pay about eight dollars.
Diego Rivera Museum
The Diego Rivera Museum was founded in 1975. It contains the collection of the famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera. The gallery's collection includes over one hundred and seventy-five works by the master. Most of the paintings once belonged to a local resident, Marta. In the Diego Rivera Museum, visitors will be able to see the paintings that the artist created in early childhood, during his youth and in the last years of his life. The last painting he created dates back to 1956. In the museum you can see such famous paintings by Diego Rivera as "Madame Libet", "Dove of Peace", "Classic Head".
In addition to paintings, the gallery presents some of the artist's sketches. The Diego Rivera Museum houses the work of other artists of Mexico in the twentieth century. They are united in a separate collection called "minimark". For example, here you can see paintings by Jose Luis Cuevas. The Diego Rivera Museum is open all year round. You will have to pay a few dollars to stay in the museum.
Museum of the Casa de la Tia Aura
This museum can literally be called unique. Because its exposition is a very peculiar collection of impressions, shades, nuances and inexplicable feelings left from the inhabitants who inhabited this old house before.
This museum is often referred to as the Haunted House. And special effects help to feel its mysterious and even mystical atmosphere very reliably.
The idea for creating such a museum was given by the information that human sacrifices were made inside this house.
The tour of the house is in Spanish only, so it will be difficult for foreign-speaking guests to understand the guide's story. But very believable sighs, rustles and other sounds speak for themselves. You won't be bored in this museum.
The museum is open from Monday to Saturday.
Museum of Fine Arts in Quixote
The Museum of Fine Arts in Quixote is a museum created under the patronage of the Government of Guanajuato and the Cervantina Eulalio Foundation. The Museum of Fine Arts in Quixote is widely recognized as a cultural center. The reason for the popularity lies not only in the widest thematic collection of the museum (more than 900 works of art). First of all, the museum is known as the center of the annual Art Festival, where artists, writers, sculptors and other representatives of the creative intelligentsia from all over the world gather.
The exposition of the museum includes paintings made in different styles and techniques, sculptures, ceramics, arts and crafts and much more. The collection continues to grow, mainly through donations from the Cervantina Foundation.
mummy museum
The Mummy Museum was established at the end of the nineteenth century. It was opened in 1865. At this time, the first mummified body was discovered in the pantheon of Santa Paulo. Over one hundred and fifty years of history, the museum has been visited by over one million visitors. The collection of the mummy museum has more than a hundred exhibits. Some of them were donated to the museum by American researchers.
The Mummy Museum was created in order to preserve the cultural heritage of Mexico. Each exhibit reflects the life of Guanajuato for several decades. During tours of the mummy museum, the guide tells visitors about the features of the appearance of mummifications, the decoration of their graves, and also retells Mexican legends associated with mummies. Each employee of the museum took part in archaeological excavations, which are constantly carried out on the territory of Guanajuato. In 2007, the mummy museum was renovated.
Attractions Guanajuato
burial tax was introduced. This meant that the dead citizens were buried in local cemeteries not for thanks, but on the terms of a paid extension of their grave-place. Since the dead themselves, for obvious reasons, cannot pay for themselves, their relatives had to do this. If the relatives did not have the opportunity or desire to pay, and in some cases, in fact, the relatives themselves were not found, then the body of the deceased was exhumed. Imagine the surprise of the cemetery workers when, instead of a pile of bones, they had to extract almost brand new dead from the graves, many of which had hair, teeth, nails and even clothes! An explanation was quickly found for an amazing fact: it turned out that the unique composition of the soil and climate Guanajuato contributes to the natural process of mummification of the bodies buried here. And no mysticism.
The law obliging relatives to pay a cemetery tax was in force from 1865 to 1958, and it was during this time that the "fund" of the future museum was formed: 111 mummies buried during the period 1850-1950s(according to some reports, citizens who died during the cholera epidemic in 1833). The mummified dead were kept in a room at the cemetery, which gradually began to attract tourists who wanted to visit it for a few pesos. That's how this one came to be one of the scariest in the world, museum.
Now exhibited in the museum 59 mummies, several of which are mummy children(At this point, think again if you want to scroll down). Some of them are equipped with tablets on which it is written in the first person: I am such and such, I gave my soul to God then and then, my debarked earthly shell was removed from the mother of damp earth then and then.
A visit to the museum begins with a corridor of mummies, behind the glass of which there are almost identical, especially unremarkable, dead bodies. On all of them, the skin was preserved, soft and silky, which, of course, cannot be called, but still; some comrades stand with their hair and legs, and the one on the far right flaunts in codpieces and boots, in which, obviously, he was sent to a better world.
Further, there are characters much more interesting. For example, this one, the best preserved, is in a leather jacket. If not for some inconsistencies in years, one would think that during his lifetime the guy was a rocker.
We go further and see no less interesting exhibits: some of the dead are comfortably located in the coffin, someone attracts attention with a remarkably preserved toilet, and one of them who has departed to another world lures visitors to the museum with its oblique, almost to the waist.
Next, go to the gallery with the name Angelitos, in which, as you might guess, are stored baby mummies. According to the local tradition, the dead children were dressed up with festive clothes - boys in costumes of saints, girls in costumes of angels, believing that this way their sinless souls would quickly go to heaven.
But I was much more shocked by the photographs on the walls of this hall, telling about the tradition that existed at that time - to take pictures with already dead babies as a keepsake. I immediately remembered an episode from my favorite horror film “The Others”, where the same thing was supposed to be done with the dead of any age. It's creepy, in general.
In the next room is the mummy of a woman who died in late pregnancy and her unborn child -smallest mummy in the world.
Quite a peculiar impression is produced by the next hall with mummies of people,who died not by their own death. Here, for example, is an exposition of a buried alive (left), a drowned man (middle) and a man who died from a head injury (right). With the third, everything is already clear, but how the other two comrades who subsequently mummified died, their extremely unnatural poses speak of. The mummy on the left is a woman who fell into a lethargic sleep and was buried by mistake, the position of her hands indicates an attempt to get out of such an unfortunate situation for her. By the position of the drowned man, one can judge that in the last seconds of his life he was very short of breath.
Two of those killed still had shoes. But what are their shoes compared to these exquisite examples of the shoe industry of that time?!
Many of you will probably want to ask the question:Was it scary to walk around the museum?I answer - no worries. There were moments when I was left completely alone in any of the living rooms: my husband, having barely crossed the threshold, galloped away from the museum, and there were so few other visitors that we did not interfere with each other at all. I felt absolutely unperturbed, and only one single thought haunted me from beginning to end:and THIS is how it all ends.Might sound loud, but from a museumof deathI left with slightly changed views onlife.
Surely many of you reading this post will think thatMexicanscrazy. Anticipating your surprise, indignation, perhaps even indignation, I cannot but put in a good word for them. The fact is thatMexicansin general, they have a rather peculiar attitude towards death: they perceive it not just calmly, but, one might say, optimistically. What is absurd and even shocking for us, people of a different culture, forMexicansis a natural part of their lives. The tradition not to be afraid, but even "to be friends" with death goes back to the beliefs of their ancestors. The ancient Indians believed that death is the beginning of something greater, and it is much more important than life. INMexicothere is even a corresponding holiday -The day of the Deadwhen they pay tribute to death and even flirt a little with it. If you try to look at things through the eyes of a Mexican, then even this museum does not look so terrible.
Some of the mummies that frighten visitors to world capitals today were found thousands of years ago. As for the mummies of the Mexican city of Guanajuato, they ended up in the museum after only a few centuries. In the period from 1865 to 1958, residents of the city, whose relatives rested in the local graves, were obliged to pay a tax. If someone evaded payment for three years in a row, then the bodies of his loved ones were immediately dug up.
Due to the fact that the soil in this region of Mexico was extremely dry, the corpses looked more like well-preserved mummies. The first mummy to be dug up is the body of Dr. Leroy Remigio, which was found on June 9, 1865. The dug up bodies were kept in a crypt in the cemetery, and relatives could still ransom the corpse. This practice lasted until 1894, until enough bodies accumulated in the crypt to open a museum of mummies in Guanajuato.
In 1958, residents stopped paying tax for a place in the cemetery, but they decided to leave the mummies in the crypt, which soon became a local landmark and began to be popular with tourists. Yes, initially travelers came directly to the crypt to see the bodies of mummies, but soon the collection of the dead became exhibits of a separate museum.
Since all mummies are formed naturally, they look much more terrifying than embalmed bodies. It is noteworthy that the mummies of Guanajuato, with their bony and distorted faces, are still dressed in the attire in which they were buried.
Perhaps the most shocking exhibits of the mummy museum for visitors will be the buried body of a pregnant woman and the wrinkled bodies of children. The museum also houses the smallest mummy on the planet, which is no bigger than a loaf of bread.
At the moment, it is not known exactly how the corpse, having been buried for more than a century, could have been so successfully preserved. As already mentioned, scientists suggest that the reason for this is the characteristics of the local soil, but there is also an opinion that the local climate contributed to the mummification of corpses.
The museum has a shop selling sugar skulls, stuffed mummies, and black humor postcards in Spanish.
They are very popular with tourists. Sunny beaches, ancient cities that still remember the conquistadors, amazing nature, colorful customs of the local population and, of course, open-air archaeological museums with the unique architecture of Mesoamerica - all this awaits those who come to a warm country.
Cities
A trip to Mexico is worth making in order to see for yourself the incredible power and greatness of civilizations, the memory of which is still kept by the ancient stones of the temple of Quetzalcoatl. Such Mexican cities as Mexico City and Cancun are a vivid example of how the history and culture of different civilizations and peoples are surprisingly intertwined.
Forever young Acapulco will swirl in a whirlwind of entertainment and amaze with daredevils, who in the bay of La Quebrada from a height of 35 meters rush into the waves of the Pacific Ocean. The old cities of Mexico, such as Guadalajara and Tequila, have the hallmarks of the Spanish colonial era, not only in architecture. There is still a bullfighting arena where spectacular performances are held, but the Tequila Museum is of particular interest to tourists.
Gorgeous white sand beaches and ocean depths promise heavenly pleasure. In this regard, it is worth mentioning beach tours to Mexico. The Riviera Maya resort will not leave indifferent even the most demanding public, excellent service and comfortable hotels, from the doors of which you can get directly to the beach. Nature and architecture of amazing beauty will leave unforgettable memories.
Description
The city of Guanajuato deserves special attention; its outstanding beauty and sights amaze even seasoned tourists. It was founded in the sixteenth century by the Spanish colonialists, who discovered deposits rich in silver there. Thus began the history of the city, the first settlements of miners arose, and later the settlement of Santa Fe was built. The eighteenth century gave prosperity to the city, it was at this time that new, richest silver veins were found. The owners of deposits and mines began active development, and money poured into the treasury of the Spanish crown. The newly minted Spanish nobility did not skimp on the construction of palaces, churches and temples in the city of Guanajuato. Mexico became their second home. They even called it New Spain.
The beautiful baroque temples of La Compaña and San Cayetano de la Valenciana are undoubtedly the architectural masterpieces of colonial Mexico. Silver deposits have been depleted over time, and silver mining has ceased to be a priority sector of the city's economy. But tourism and education have become basic areas, and the city is also the capital of the state of the same name. Guanajuato (state) has a developed economy, which is based on the extraction of gold, silver, fluorine and quartz. The petrochemical industry, food industry and pharmaceutical enterprises are well developed.
Name and national component
Quite interesting is the history of the name of the city of Guanajuato. Mexico was then inhabited by indigenous peoples: Purépecha is one of them, and the city owes its name to it. "Quanaxhuato" in translation means the mountainous abode of frogs. To date, the national component consists of khonas, mestizos and whites.
Mine
The historical part of the city is located in a winding gorge. The development took place along the spurs and slopes, and on the outskirts in the Santa Rosa mountains are the famous mine and the village of La Valenciana. The mine works to this day, but, despite this, it accepts excursion groups. For a small fee, you can go down 60 meters and get an idea of the hard work of a miner.
Narrow streets
Narrow streets often turn into steps and rise high up the slope, so driving would be quite difficult if there were few tunnels and underground roads. Probably one of the most popular narrow streets is Kisses Lane. The urban legend says that quite wealthy people once lived on this street, their daughter fell in love with a simple worker of the local mine. The lovers, of course, were forbidden to meet, but the resourceful guy rented a room with a balcony in the house opposite. And thanks to the narrow lane, the lovers, each standing on their own balcony, could exchange kisses.
The Basilica of the Colegiata de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato, of course, one of the city's most important attractions, is located in the city center on PlazadelaPaz, which means Peace Square.
No less attractive tourist sites are the Juarez Theater, made in neoclassical style, the buildings of Alhondiga de Granaditas and the Old Town Hall.
The city of Guanajuato (Mexico) is the birthplace of the famous artist. His home now serves as a museum. The panorama of the city from a bird's eye view is delightful, the view opens from the hill of San Miguel, on top of which there is a monument in honor of the rebel Pipila.
mummy museum
An interesting and at the same time creepy place is the Mummy Museum. The history of its formation goes back to the distant 1870. Then the law on the payment of tax for eternal burial was introduced. If the relatives of the deceased were unable to pay the tax amounts, the buried remains were dug up and sent for public viewing in a building near the cemetery. Most of the remains belong to ordinary people, workers and their families. Everyone could enter the vault and stare at the mummies for a fee. In 1958 the law was repealed and in 1970 a new museum was built and all mummies are now kept under glass.
The viewing was held by candlelight, visitors often tore off pieces from the exhibits, leaving them as souvenirs. In total, the museum's collection contains 111 mummies of people who died between 1850 and 1950. The eerie exposition is accompanied by inscriptions on the tablets in the form of a presentation, the story is in the first person and tells the sad story of mummies taken from their graves and exhibited in the museum. It is characteristic that all the bodies are mummified in a natural way. There are several versions of this phenomenon. But scientists consider the influence of climate to be the most likely, thanks to the hot and dry air, the bodies dried up and mummified rather quickly.
Monuments to Miguel Cervantes
The inhabitants of the city have a rather interesting feature: they adore the work of Miguel Cervantes. Although the famous author of Don Quixote himself never visited Guanajuato, this did not prevent the inhabitants of the city from erecting many monuments dedicated to his work and organizing the Cervantino Festival in honor of their beloved writer. This event was held for the first time in 1972.
Since then it has been held annually. The festival is one of the most significant cultural events in Mexico. During the Cervantino Guanajuato turns into a large theatrical stage, artists surprise and delight residents and guests of the city with their creativity, and music and singing coming from all sides create a feeling of universal rejoicing.
Also, Guanajuato can be proud of its university, not only in terms of architecture, although the new monumental building adds credibility to the panorama of the city, but also of its students. There are a lot of them here, so it seems that the inhabitants of the city are forever young. Sounds of music and laughter are heard from all sides, countless bars and discos of the city are always glad to their tireless visitors.
Conclusion
The beautiful and contrasting city of Guanajuato. Mexico never ceases to amaze with its inconsistency. On the one hand, almost the entire population of the country is zealous Catholics, regularly attends temples and honors Christian saints, on the other hand, they magnificently celebrate the Day of the Dead, dressing in terrible costumes symbolizing Death.
Guanajuato, striking with the beauty of architecture, colorful houses and cheerful disposition of the inhabitants, evokes, on the one hand, the warmest feelings, but plunges into horror with the history of the appearance of the Museum of Mummies.
Avid travelers say that you need to feel Guanajuata, and then it will be simply impossible not to fall in love with it. Yes, and Mexico itself receives the most flattering reviews from tourists, no one is indifferent. Everyone takes with him a piece of her big soul, seething with passions.
