SAN JOSE AND ITS HISTORY...
San José was populated since pre-Colombian times by many Huetar indigenous people. The first city was named Guarcimuñoz and was founded in 1561 in what is now the area of Santa Ana. Three years later the city of Guarcimuñoz was moved to the south of San José, in Guarco. This is how the south of the country started to overpopulate.

 

It is said that some of the small towns located in what is known today as Barva de Heredia, Curridabat and Aserri, in San Jose, started out as stop-by villages for travelers who needed a place to rest. This area has a relatively flat topography, and was known as Boca del Monte (Mouth of the Forest). In 1737 the first neighborhood was founded, along with a small chapel for religious ceremonies. Four years later the Church of San Jose was inaugurated, and the city changed its name to Villa Nueva de la Boca del Monte.

 

The problem about Villa Nueva de la Boca del Monte was the lack of water, and the town refused to live there; the houses were sparse, but as soon as the government found a way to provide water to the area, more and more people started settling down.  The small chapel was moved to what we know now as the Catedral Metropolitana (Metropolitan Cathedral). In 1814 San Jose already had a School –Casa de Enseñanza-, which was later called Casa Santo Tomas, and grew into a university. In 1823, after the Civil war in Ochomogo, San Jose was officially named the capital of Costa Rica.

 

Important facts...

This is the first province of the country. It has 20 cantons and 111 districts. Most of Costa Rica’s population lives in San Jose. The three Powers of the Republic are based in San Jose territory: Presidency of the Republic, Legislative Counsel and the Supreme Court of Justice, as well as the Supreme Tribunal of Elections.

 

It is the province with most museums, art galleries and other recreational centers. Coffee, vegetables, sugar cane, tobacco, corn, fruits and ornamental plants are grown in this land.

It has highly industrialized areas where all kinds of goods are produced (food, textiles, packaging, cardboard, plastic, glass, medicine, etc.).