Comayagua is a town in Honduras, some 80 km northwest of Tegucigalpa on the highway to San Pedro Sula at 14.46°N, 87.65°W at an elevation of 594 meters above sea level. In 2003 the estimated population was 74,000 people. It is the capital of Honduras's Comayagua department. Presidential Palace Replica of Pre-Columbian Temple Pyramid in Park Tegucigalpa, population 897,000 (1997), is the capital of Honduras and the republics largest city. ... San Pedro Sula is a city in the nation of Honduras. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January January 1 - Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ... Comayagua is one of the 18 departaments (departamentos) into which the Central American nation of Honduras is divided. ...

History

Comayagua was founded with the name Santa María de la Nueva Valladolid by Conquistador Alonso de Cáceres under orders from Francisco de Montejo, Governor of Yucatán on December 8, 1537. From 1540 on Comayagua was the capital of the Honduras district of New Spain. After independence from Spain it was the capital of the state of Honduras in the United States of Central America. After Honduras became an independent republic, the capital alternated between Comayagua and Tegucigalpa (Comayagua being preferred by Conservative administrations, and Tegucigalpa by Liberal ones) before being permanently established at Tegucigalpa in 1880. Conquistador (meaning Conqueror in the Spanish language) is the term used to refer to the soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under Spanish rule between the 15th and 17th centuries. ... Francisco de Montejo c. ... The Yucatán Peninsula separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico. ... December 8 is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 6 - Alessandro de Medici assassinated August 25 - The Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, and the second most senior, was formed. ... Events January 6 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves, his fourth Queen consort. ... Flag of New Spain New Spain (in the Spanish language Nueva España) was the name given to the Spanish colonial territory in North America from c. ... The United Provinces of Central America (UPCA) was a country that existed in Central America from July 1823 to approximately 1840. ... 1880 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

The town is noted for its wealth of Spanish Colonial architecture. However, the city is dusty and not highly developed. There are several buses daily to Tegucigalpa. The central square has a cathedral with the oldest clock in the Americas. The national School of Fine Arts is located in Comayagüela (not in Comayagua), a neighborhood of Tegucigalpa.