What is Managua?
[[Image:Flag of Managua.svg|right|250px]] [[Image:Coat of Arms of Managua.svg|right|200px]] '''Managua''' has been the [[capital city]] of [[Nicaragua]] since [[1855]]. There had been an Indian settlement there before the Spanish, but the modern city was founded as '''Leal Villa de Santiago de Managua''' in 1811. Before 1855, [[León (Nicaragua)|León]] and [[Granada (Nicaragua)|Granada]] were the capital cities. The word ''managua'' comes from the [[Nahuatl language]] ''mana-ahuac''. It means ''near water''. About 1.8 million people lived there in 2004. This makes it one of the biggest cities of Central America (after [[Guatemala City]]). The city is at the [[shore]] of [[Lake Managua]]. Many people who live in Managua are White or [[Mestizo]]. They all speak [[Spanish language|Spanish]]. There are also big communities of [[Catalonia]]ns, [[Germans]], [[Italians]] and [[French people|French]]. Many of the people belonging to those communities have lived in the city for many generations. Many people see Managua as one of the safest cities in America to live in. The city has had two destructive [[earthquake]]s in the [[20th century]]. [[Tropical cyclone|Hurricane]] [[Mitch (hurricane)|Mitch]] caused further destructions in [[1998]]. Many old buildings were damaged or destroyed in these earthquakes, and new streets and monuments were built in their place. In general, addresses are rarely used to give directions. Instead, people usually use monuments to tell where a certain place is. The problem with that approach is that sometimes, the monuments themselves were destroyed. Therefore, foreigners often have problems finding their way around the city. <gallery> Image:Mausoleo Carlos Fonseca.JPG|[[Mausoleum]] of [[Carols Fonseca]] Image:Rue de managua.jpg|A street (in the quarter Marta Quezada) </gallery> [[Category:Cities in Nicaragua]] [[Category:1811 establishments in North America]] [[Category:National capitals in North America]]