Palacio de la Prefectura de Chuquisaca, Baroque palace and national monument in Chuquisaca, Bolivia.
The Palacio de la Prefectura de Chuquisaca is a Baroque building in Chuquisaca Department and a national monument of Bolivia. Its facade displays detailed architectural elements with a central oval featuring the National Shield inscribed with 'Unity is Strength'.
The archbishop Cristóbal de Castilla y Zamora bought the cathedral plots on 5 July 1679 to build an archiepiscopal palace and seminary. After independence in 1825 the building passed to the new state, and under President Aniceto Arce (1888–1892) work began on the Palacio Nacional, directed by the Austrian engineer Julius Pinkas; it was only partially finished in the early 20th century, and no final handover record is known. President Severo Fernández Alonso, elected in 1896, faced the Federal Civil War, after which the executive moved to La Paz and the palace passed to the Prefecture of Chuquisaca.
The palace reflects the administrative role that Sucre held in the 19th century as a governmental center, and it continues to shape the appearance of Plaza 25 de Mayo today. The ornate facade tells of the building's importance to local government functions.
The building is located at the intersection of Aniceto Arce and Ayacucho streets next to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Sucre on the main plaza 25 de Mayo. You can easily reach it on foot from the city center and get a clear view of its Baroque design from the square.
The 1893 commission report divided the building into three sections: official (presidential secretariat, diplomatic reception hall, ministries and the National Treasury with its safe), private (the president's residence, entered from Bustillos street) and security (for the National Guard). The private quarters connected to the official secretariat through a door on the upper floor.
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