Cuenca, as the majority of the main cities of Ecuador, developed a history with a mixture of the native indigenous combined with the Spanish heritage that was brought along by the European conquerors. However, Cuenca is located in a valley high up in the mountains surrounded by other smaller valleys of warmer climate; a location without easy access. This isolated Cuenca from the rest of the highlands and the coast as well, and thus allowed this quaint city to develop its own history with particularities in the life style of its people. Cuenca is a small jewel in the Andes, considered a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO due to its charming character. In Cuenca, Spanish is spoken with a clearly distinguished accent.

Cuenca has produced great artists, poets and writers in its unique ambiance. The people of Cuenca are conservative, religious, and proud of their city, traditions and culture.
In the XIX Century, the Republican Era in Ecuador, the Religious Orders take interest in developing the arts, sciences and architecture. At the time, Cuenca had a population of only 18,000 inhabitants. In 1874, the Redemption Order requests support from the brothers in Europe for this enterprise. Juan Stiehle, a German brother, knowledgeable in architecture, arrives to Cuenca through the Order to help in this task and marks his influence. This man had no official degree, but great experience in construction and in art. He himself was much influenced by the French Neoclassical Style and transferred this influence not only to the building of the Church of Saint Alfonso which he directed entirely, but also to much of the civil architecture of the mansions of the aristocrats of Cuenca.

He had a great number of collaborators with whom he built many of the constructions of that time. The Cathedral of Cuenca is also a work directed by Stiehle, who lived in Cuenca for 25 years and left his mark.
Prestigious Architects from other parts of Ecuador such as the Quitenian Luis Donoso Barba, made new materials such as bricks, marble, cast iron, etc. Brass banisters and ceilings were imported from Europe to Guayaquil and then taken to Cuenca through muddy and difficult roads. Local artisans and trained workers gave color and a finishing touch to these materials, and then continued to paint frescoes with the European style but with the native scenes and interpretations. A walking tour by day or by night in downtown Cuenca is recommended. Some of the extraordinary mansions have been transformed into excellent hotels. Cuenca has a flavor and a character of its own. Cuenca not only displays extraordinary works of art in its museums, churches and convents, but also its unique architecture in the midst of which you will be enchanted.

Text by: Gustavo Vallejo P.
Source: Pedro Espinosa & María Isabel Calle.
Photo credits: Comunicación Social de la Municipalidad de Cuenca

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