CASA DE LA LIBERTAD

Towards the end of the sixteenth century, the bishops and archbishops of Charcas, as well as the Jesuits, asked the Spanish crown to create a "high place of learning". Their requests led to the foundation, first, of the San Juan Bautista School in 1621, and then, three years later, of the Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Francisco Xavier.

The university was founded by the Jesuit father Juan de Frias Herran in 1624, but it was already operating informally in 1621 in the premises of the Jesuit school. During this period, the church of San Miguel was the venue for all solemn and academic acts.

The buildings of the university were built with the economic contributions of the Jesuits. The first building, completed in 1701, was the one known today as the Casa de la Libertad. In spite of the transformations that were made during the 19th century, the university's premises have generally kept their original appearance. Once through the gateway, you arrive in a typically colonial rectangular patio, in the middle of which is a large stone fountain. The rooms to be visited are organized around this courtyard.

On entering, at the far right, the first room displays all the objects related to the colony. On the left is a portrait of Pedro de Anzures, Marquis of Camporedondo and founder of the city. The city's coat of arms bears a double-headed eagle supported by the pillars of science and knowledge; below it are the kingdoms of Leon and Castile and a flag representing the crusades; in the background, the Cerro Rico on the right and the Cerro Porco on the left are visible. The three main marks of nobility were: a daughter placed in a convent, the possession of a coat of arms that was painted especially on portraits and, of course, a particle name that was as long as the fame of an ancestor.

On the right, from the entrance, is a map of the city dating from 1777, showing the two mountains that dominate Sucre, Sica Sica and Churuquella, and, on the far left, the place where the city was founded. Against one wall lies a coffin once used by the university. The showcase in the centre of the room displays important documents relating to the king's regulations and orders. It reads: "yo, el rey" (I, the king), with the royal signature next to it. On the opposite wall, a portrait of King Charles III has a strong symbolic value, as it was before him that the Spanish authorities of the Real Audiencia came to swear allegiance. On the left, a portrait of a woman shows her dressed in one of the characteristic dresses of the colonial period, which inspired the polleras (petticoats) of the peasant women. On the way out, on the right, give a look to the portrait of Don Ramon Garcia de Leon y Pizarro, the highest authority in the last years of the colony and who said a famous phrase: "The conquest began with Pizarro and with Pizarro it will end. »

Next to the first room, the most beautiful space of the Casa de la Libertad opens up: the Salón de la Independencia, of great historical importance. This is where the first constituent congress of Bolivia met and signed the Act of Independence on August 6, 1825. Under a coffered and herringbone ceiling, one can admire, above the door, a beautiful tribune carved in cedar wood and gilded with 24-carat gold leaf.

It is U-shaped, reminiscent of the choirs of the 16th century. Its decoration is in the Baroque style. Originally, in the early 17th century, this room was the private chapel of the Jesuits. For this reason, the pulpits, marked with their emblem, are still there. When the university was founded, this room was used for public examinations for the doctorate in law and philosophy. Many of the people who have written the history of Latin America have passed through its four walls.

At the back, on the right, you can see the chapel known as the "templete argentino". There is a portrait of the Argentine general Belgrano, creator of the first Argentine flag. In the window is exposed the flag belonging to the second Argentine auxiliary division, defeated by the Spaniards. Further on, on leaving the chapel, one passes through a room that commemorates the heroes of the Revolution. At the back, a portrait of Zudanez, who gave the first revolutionary cry in Latin America. On the floor, a cannon that was used to destroy the doors of the Real Audiencia de Charcas. There are also two swords with which two marshals fought: Sucre, in the battle of Ayacucho, and Ballivian, in the battle of Ingavi. Next to it is the Salón del Senado, where the Senate used to meet. Here are exposed the portraits of all the presidents of Bolivia, from the birth of the country until today. At the back, a huge bust of Bolívar, dating from 1966 and carved in a single piece of wood, dominates. Of the first two Bolivian flags on display, one was used until 1825. It shows the five provinces that signed the Act of Independence: Potosi, La Paz, Charcas, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz. The second flag, used until 1826, bears the first coat of arms of the city. This same room also contains various objects from the Republican period. The fourth and last room is dedicated to Marshal Sucre, his life and the role he played in the history of the country.