Pachuca de Soto, Mexico Tourism

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steep, crooked alleyways, small squares and beige-painted houses, does not offer many sights. However, the surrounding area enjoys richly varied scenery and towns and villages with interesting early colonial art.

History

The Aztecs are supposed to have founded the settlement of Patlachiucán in about 1490 to mine for the gold and silver located here just below the earth's surface. Pachuca (Náhuatl: "Pachoa"= narrow place") was established in 1527 by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Téllez. Its first upswing occurred in 1555 when Bartolomé de Medina devised the process of amalgamation, that is separating metals from ores by treating them with mercury. In the mid-18th c. new developments, mainly through the enterprise of Pedro Romero de Terreros, later the Count of Regla, took ore exploitation to a new high point. The considerable number of colonial buildings in the town were also constructed at this time, mainly with his assistance. In 1869 Pachuca became the capital of the Mexican state of Hidalgo.