The Ex Convent of Santa Catarina de Siena

The convent was founded by Bishop Bernardino de Alburquerque in 1568 and was called the Monasterio del Rosario de María.

The convent was started with four nuns brought from Mexico City and was located in a private residence donated by Bishop Albuquerque. In 1579 the construction of the convent was entrusted to Hernando Cavarcos, who had supervised the construction of the Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán. The construction of the convent began a few years before the end of the sixteenth century and was completed in the eighteenth century.

Soon after the expulsion of the nuns in 1862 (due to the Laws of Reformation), the convent served as a jail, and the church and atrium became the Municipal Palace. Later on, the church served as a cinema (a door which is still in use was opened in the western wall).

As a result of the exclaustration of nuns, decreed by the Reform Laws in 1862, the Convent served as a prison, and what was the temple and atrium was transformed into the Municipal Palace. Later, the temple functioned as a cinema, for which a door was opened in the western wall that still exists. At the beginning of the 20th century, a Masonic lodge was installed in a fraction of the corner, of the current streets of Reforma and Murguía. In 1950 the remaining part, on Reforma Street, was assigned to the Abraham Castellanos School. Finally, in 1976, the former Convent was transformed into the Hotel Presidente, today Posada Camino Real, and the property was declared a National Treasure.

At the beginning of the twentieth century a Masonic lodge was installed in the portion of the building on the corner of Reforma and Murguía. In 1950 the Abraham Castellanos School was opened in the remaining portion facing Reforma. Lastly, in 1976, the former-convent became the Hotel Presidente (today the prestigious Hotel Camino Real) and was declared a National Treasure.

In the northeast courtyard, of what is now the Hotel, the new set of twelve laundries stands out, in a small building with an octagonal floor plan that ends with a Mudejar dome. It represents the most significant hydraulic system of the colonial era.

How to get:
It is located 5 blocks northeast of the Zócalo in the city of Oaxaca, between Reforma, Alcalá, Abasolo and Murguía streets.

Contact:
5 de Mayo No. 315, Centro Histórico, Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax.

Location map

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