Church of San Francisco

In front of you is the oldest church still standing in Bogotá. Outside it is sober, almost severe. Inside it holds one of the most dazzling gilded ensembles in the city.

1Beside a vanished river

The Franciscans built it between 1557 and 1566 on land donated by Archbishop Juan de los Barrios, on the banks of the Vicachá River, later called the San Francisco. That river now runs in a channel under Avenida Jiménez, which follows its old course. The church was enlarged between 1586 and 1611.

2The golden altarpiece

In 1623 the high altarpiece was made, regarded as the most representative in New Granada. Its lower tier has grotesque ornament; the second, female saints with their attributes; above them, the apostles; and at the very top, God the Father, holding the world in one hand and pointing to the Franciscans with the other. The nave is covered by a Mudéjar timber ceiling, one of the finest in the viceroyalty.

The earthquake of 1785 badly damaged the tower, which had to be rebuilt. The work was finished in 1794, when the church was consecrated again.

The friary that went with it covered two city blocks, with three cloisters. It disappeared in 1917 to make room for the Palacio de San Francisco, the former seat of the Cundinamarca government, the building next door. Only the sacristy survives from the friary.

3What to look for

• The tower, rebuilt after the earthquake of 1785.
• The Palacio de San Francisco, the French-looking building raised on the site of the old friary.
• The high altarpiece, if you go in: find the hand of God the Father pointing to the Franciscans.