Betancuria

The island’s former capital lies nestled in an idyllic valley, through which, up to the 16th century, a mountain stream flowed all the year round. Relatively protected from attack by pirates, the town nonetheless never achieved the importance normally associated with a capital. Founded in 1405 by the Norman conqueror Jean de Béthencourt, Betancuria developed only slowly, far from the coast as it is. In 1426 the church of Santa Maria was consecrated as a cathedral and appointed a bishop’s set by Pope Martin V, though no bishop ever resided there. In 1593 the pirate Jaban penetrated as far as the capital and reduced it to rubble and ash. The cathedral was not rebuilt until 1691.
With only a few short interruptions, Betancuria was the administrative centre of the island until 1834. However, the lack of arable land forced the inhabitants and settlers to move on into the wide, fertile plains around Antigua, Pájara and Tuineje - a development to which the island’s rulers responded with restrictions and edicts.
Nowadays, Betancuria lives almost entirely from day visitors. From 10.00 to 18.00 hrs, you can visit the Cathedral of Santa Maria, the church museum and the local museum.
Visitors looking for quality will feel at ease in the Casa Santa Maria. The restaurant and bar are open to all visitors, as are two shops with top-quality original crafts. On top of that, there are multivision shows, a gallery, a bodega and workshops where you can watch local artists at work.
The cathedral is now only used as a museum. In the church museum there is a display of photographs documenting all the sacred buildings on the islands, religious objects and a special attraction, the conquerors´ banner. The remains of the original are sewn into the replica. The local museum shows mainly archaeological finds. The explanations given are currently only in Spanish, so it is advisable to buy the “Didactic Guide to the Museum of Betacuria” in English.
At the upper end of town are the ruins of the old Franciscan monastery, which had to be abandoned in 1937 following an order from the Queen Isabella II of Spain, and subsequently fell into disrepair. The roof was not a victim of decay, though: it was dismantled and sold for water and grain during one of the droughts of the last century. The little church belonging to the monastery, San Buenaventura, has been restored on the outside, but is empty inside and kept locked. In the rainy season a stream flows along in front of the monastery walls, and its reinforced bed give an idea of how deep it once was.
To the north of Betancuria 600 m above sea-level on the Montaña Tegu, work is currently underway, with EC support, on the Mirador Moro Velosa. This is a restaurant with a view or the Valle de Santa de Ines and the countryside around Betancuria and Antigua.