Cobán
Encyclopedia
The city
of Cobán is the capital of the department
of Alta Verapaz
in central Guatemala
. It also serves as the administrative center for the surrounding Cobán municipality. It is located 219 km from Guatemala City
.
In 2005 the city's estimated population was 86,202. The population of the municipality, which covers a total terrain of 1312 km², was 94,000 people. Cobán, at a height of 1320 m above sea level
, is located at the center of a major coffee
-growing area.
friars in 1543. It received the title of an imperial city by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
. The name Cobán originates from the Q'eqchi', the town's second language. There are several interpretations, one of which is Cob An (foggy place). In 1599 Cobán became bishop's see. The Ferrocarril Verapaz
, a railway which connected Cobán with Lake Izabal
, operated from 1895 until 1963 and was a symbol for the wealth in this coffee-growing region those days.
The city was developed by German
coffee growers towards the end of the 19th century and was operated as a largely independent dominion until WWII
. In 1888 a German club was founded. http://www.contextxxi.at/context/content/view/391/95/ and in 1935 a German school opened its doors in Cobán. Until 1930, about 2000 Germans populated the city http://www.matices.de/15/15skaffe.htm. In 1941, all Germans were expelled by the Guatemalan government
, led at the time by Jorge Ubico
. Some say the reason was pressure from the United States
. It has been suggested Ubico's motivation was to seize control of the vast amounts of land Germans owned in the area. Whatever the case may be, it is a fact that many of the Alta Verapaz Germans sympathized with the German Nazi movement. Many ended up in internment camps in Texas
and were later traded for American POW's held in Germany
. A sizable resident German population persists though most having been completely assimilated into the Guatemalan culture through intermarriage. Multiple German architectonical elements can still be appreciated throughout Cobán.
for Guatemala's Native American
women, the winner of which is crowned with the title "Rabin Ahau", which means "the Daughter of the King" in Q'eqchi'. The dominant ethnicity here is Q'eqchi
mayan and the language of Q'eqchi
is widely spoken in town, especially in an around the markets where farmers from the surrounding hills sell their products.
The departmental fair is held in Cobán and begins on the last Sunday in July and continues for a week. Every year the International
half Marathon
of Cobán is held during the month of May, 4,000 runners gather in Cobán to take part of the event that has become the landmark event for the region. The annual religious festival (fiesta titular) is on August 4 and dedicated to Santo Domingo de Guzman.
Football Club is one of the traditional clubs of Guatemala and became Guatemala League
champions for the first time in 2004. The club now play in the second division
. They play their home games in the Estadio Verapaz
.
Cobán is also known for their basketball history. The youth leagues are the best in the country.
Cobán is surrounded by mountains laden with orchids, the rare Monja blanca
orchid is the departmental symbol. Nature reserves in or near Cobán include Las Victorias National Park, San José la Colonia National Park, Laguna Lachuá National Park, and Biotopo Mario Dary Rivera. There can be found multiple caves, waterfalls and forests which are home to the rare Quetzal
. Thus, Cobán has become a popular spot for eco-tourism.
, the Dieseldorff coffee plantation, the Principe Maya Archaeological Museum, and Coban's central plaza.
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
of Cobán is the capital of the department
Departments of Guatemala
||Guatemala is divided into 22 departments :#Alta Verapaz#Baja Verapaz#Chimaltenango#Chiquimula#Petén#El Progreso#El Quiché#Escuintla#Guatemala#Huehuetenango#Izabal#Jalapa#Jutiapa#Quetzaltenango#Retalhuleu#Sacatepéquez...
of Alta Verapaz
Alta Verapaz
Alta Verapaz is a department in the north central part of Guatemala. The capital and chief city of the department is Cobán. Verapaz is bordered to the north by El Petén, to the east by Izabal, to the south by Zacapa, El Progreso, and Baja Verapaz, and to the west by El Quiché.Also in Alta Verapaz...
in central Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
. It also serves as the administrative center for the surrounding Cobán municipality. It is located 219 km from Guatemala City
Guatemala City
Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...
.
In 2005 the city's estimated population was 86,202. The population of the municipality, which covers a total terrain of 1312 km², was 94,000 people. Cobán, at a height of 1320 m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
, is located at the center of a major coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
-growing area.
History
The city was founded by DominicanDominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
friars in 1543. It received the title of an imperial city by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
. The name Cobán originates from the Q'eqchi', the town's second language. There are several interpretations, one of which is Cob An (foggy place). In 1599 Cobán became bishop's see. The Ferrocarril Verapaz
Rail transport in Guatemala
Although Guatemala still has a network of narrow gauge railroads, no passenger or freight trains currently run, except for occasional chartered tourist trains.- History :...
, a railway which connected Cobán with Lake Izabal
Lake Izabal
Lago de Izabal, also known as the Golfo Dulce, is the largest lake in Guatemala with a surface area of 589.6 km² and a maximum depth is 18 meters . The Polochic River is the largest river that drains into the lake...
, operated from 1895 until 1963 and was a symbol for the wealth in this coffee-growing region those days.
Germans in Cobán
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
coffee growers towards the end of the 19th century and was operated as a largely independent dominion until WWII
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1888 a German club was founded. http://www.contextxxi.at/context/content/view/391/95/ and in 1935 a German school opened its doors in Cobán. Until 1930, about 2000 Germans populated the city http://www.matices.de/15/15skaffe.htm. In 1941, all Germans were expelled by the Guatemalan government
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, led at the time by Jorge Ubico
Jorge Ubico
Jorge Ubico y Castañeda was a Guatemalan dictator who held the title of President of Guatemala from 14 February 1931 to 4 July 1944.-Early years:...
. Some say the reason was pressure from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It has been suggested Ubico's motivation was to seize control of the vast amounts of land Germans owned in the area. Whatever the case may be, it is a fact that many of the Alta Verapaz Germans sympathized with the German Nazi movement. Many ended up in internment camps in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and were later traded for American POW's held in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. A sizable resident German population persists though most having been completely assimilated into the Guatemalan culture through intermarriage. Multiple German architectonical elements can still be appreciated throughout Cobán.
Culture
Each year at the end of July, a festival of Guatemala's native peoples is held here, La Fiesta Nacional Indígena de Guatemala(Festival Folklórico). The festivities include a beauty contestBeauty contest
A beauty pageant or beauty contest, is a competition that mainly focuses on the physical beauty of its contestants, although such contests often incorporate personality, talent, and answers to judges' questions as judged criteria...
for Guatemala's Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
women, the winner of which is crowned with the title "Rabin Ahau", which means "the Daughter of the King" in Q'eqchi'. The dominant ethnicity here is Q'eqchi
Q'eqchi
The Q'eqchi' language, also spelled Kekchi, is one of the Mayan languages, natively spoken within Q'eqchi' communities in Guatemala and Belize. In Guatemala, Q'eqchi' is spoken in the departments of Alta Verapaz, Petén, Izabal, Baja Verapaz, and El Quiché...
mayan and the language of Q'eqchi
Q'eqchi
The Q'eqchi' language, also spelled Kekchi, is one of the Mayan languages, natively spoken within Q'eqchi' communities in Guatemala and Belize. In Guatemala, Q'eqchi' is spoken in the departments of Alta Verapaz, Petén, Izabal, Baja Verapaz, and El Quiché...
is widely spoken in town, especially in an around the markets where farmers from the surrounding hills sell their products.
The departmental fair is held in Cobán and begins on the last Sunday in July and continues for a week. Every year the International
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
half Marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
of Cobán is held during the month of May, 4,000 runners gather in Cobán to take part of the event that has become the landmark event for the region. The annual religious festival (fiesta titular) is on August 4 and dedicated to Santo Domingo de Guzman.
Sports
Cobán ImperialCobán Imperial
Club Social y Deportivo Cobán Imperial, nicknamed Los Príncipes Azules , is a Guatemalan football club based in Cobán, Alta Verapaz. They play their home games in the Estadio Verapaz....
Football Club is one of the traditional clubs of Guatemala and became Guatemala League
Liga Nacional de Guatemala
Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala , formerly known as Liga Mayor "A" is a professional football division in Guatemala, the highest one in the country. It is sanctioned by the Federación Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala...
champions for the first time in 2004. The club now play in the second division
Primera División de Ascenso
The Primera División de Ascenso is the second highest level of the Guatemalan league system of football. Formerly, it was known as Liga Mayor "B"...
. They play their home games in the Estadio Verapaz
Estadio Verapaz
The Estadio Verapaz is a soccer stadium in the city of Coban in Guatemala. Its official name is Estadio Verapaz Jose Angel Rossi .It was built in 1936 and its capacity is 15,000. It is home to first division club Coban Imperial....
.
Cobán is also known for their basketball history. The youth leagues are the best in the country.
Nature
Lycaste skinneri
Lycaste skinneri is a plant belonging to the orchid genus Lycaste and from moderate altitudes of Central America.Lycaste skinneri has pink flowers which can grow about 15 cm wide, the flower stem for a single flower being up to 30 cm tall. They flower mostly in late autumn or winter....
orchid is the departmental symbol. Nature reserves in or near Cobán include Las Victorias National Park, San José la Colonia National Park, Laguna Lachuá National Park, and Biotopo Mario Dary Rivera. There can be found multiple caves, waterfalls and forests which are home to the rare Quetzal
Quetzal
Quetzals are strikingly colored birds in the trogon family . They are found in forests and woodlands, especially in humid highlands, with the five species from the genus Pharomachrus being exclusively Neotropical, while the single Euptilotis species is almost entirely restricted to western Mexico...
. Thus, Cobán has become a popular spot for eco-tourism.
Attractions in town
Popular tourist spots in the city of Cobán include the El Calvario ChurchEl Calvario Church
El Calvario Church is a church in Cobán, Guatemala. The church is the most sacred site in Cobán and the focal point of religious practices throughout the year and for pilgrimages...
, the Dieseldorff coffee plantation, the Principe Maya Archaeological Museum, and Coban's central plaza.
External links
- Cobán municipality (in Spanish)