The National Palace of Culture is the most grandiose building in the capital of Guatemala and one of the main attractions of the city. It is difficult not to notice this building and pass it by: a building with an area of ​​about 9 thousand square meters rises above the ground to a height of 5 floors. However, not even the size of the palace is striking but its richly decorated facade. In addition to the external beauty and grandeur, this palace has a thousand and one more reasons why millions of tourists visit this place every year. To know them all, you need to start from the very beginning, from the moment of its foundation.

From the first days of Spanish colonization until 1939, attempts to build a building for a government failed again and again. Either the ruler changed his mind and move the construction site, or the architect was accused of inaccurate design. It continued for many years until the president of Guatemala, Jorge Ubico Castañeda, published the project himself. Later he laid the foundation stone of the palace. Its construction lasted 4 years. The grand opening took place on the president's birthday. This was a gift Jorge Ubico Castañeda made for himself. For its gray-green color, locals nicknamed the building "the big guacamole."

In total, the palace has 350 halls. Most of them are open to the public. The most famous is the Sala de Recepción, where the country's most important ceremonies are held. A huge Bohemian crystal chandelier of 14 meters diameter and 2.5 tons weight hangs on the ceiling. When about 150 light bulbs turn on, you can see almost 3 million gold figures of the rare national birds of Guatemala, Quetzals. Their cost was equal to the cost of the construction of the entire palace. The interiors of the palace halls combine different styles from Spanish to Arabic. However, the most striking is the size of the frescoes dedicated to the history of Guatemala from the Maya civilization to Independence Day.