Intramuros () is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila.
Intramuros comprises a centuries-old historic district, entirely surrounded by fortifications, that was considered at the time of the Spanish Empire to be the entire City of Manila. Other towns and arrabales (suburbs) located beyond the walls that are now districts of Manila were referred to as extramuros, Spanish for "outside the walls", and were independent towns that were only incorporated into the city of Manila during the early 20th century.
Intramuros served as the seat of government of the Captaincy General of the Philippines, a component realm of the Spanish Empire, housing the colony's governor-general from its founding in 1571 until 1865, and the Real Audiencia of Manila until the end of Spanish rule during the Philippine Revolution of 1898. The walled city was also considered the religious and educational center of the Spanish East Indies. Intramuros was also an economic center as the Asian hub of the Manila galleon trade, carrying goods to and from Acapulco in what is now Mexico.
During the early 20th century, under the administration of American colonial authorities, land reclamation and the construction of the Manila South Port subsequently moved the coastline westward and obscured the walls and fort from the bay, while the moat surrounding the fortifications was drained and turned into a recreational golf course. The Battle of Manila in 1945 during World War II entirely flattened Intramuros. Though reconstruction efforts began immediately after the war, many of its original landmarks are still lost today; under the Intramuros Administration, Intramuros is still in the process of postwar reconstruction and revival of its cultural heritage.
While Intramuros is no longer the seat of the contemporary Philippine government, several Philippine government agencies are headquartered in Intramuros. Moreover, Intramuros remains a significant educational center as part of the city's University Belt. Several offices of the Philippine Catholic Church are also found in the district.
Intramuros was designated a National Historical Landmark in 1951. The fortifications of Intramuros were declared National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines, owing to its historic and cultural significance. San Agustín Church, one of four UNESCO World Heritage Sites under the entry Baroque Churches of the Philippines, is located within the walled district. Intramuros and other historical sites in Manila are currently being proposed by the UNESCO Philippine National Commission to the country's tentative list for future UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription as The Walled City and Historic Monuments of Manila.
History
Pre-Hispanic period
The strategic location of Manila along the bay and at the mouth of the Pasig River made it an ideal location for the Tagalog tribes and kingdoms to trade with merchants from what would be today's China, India, Borneo, and Indonesia. The prehistoric polity of Maynila was located where Intramuros would be built.
In 1564, Spanish explorers led by Miguel López de Legazpi sailed from New Spain, now Mexico, and arrived on the island of Cebu in April 1565, establishing the first Spanish capitania in the Philippines. Having heard from the natives about the rich resources in Maynila, Legazpi dispatched two of his lieutenant-commanders, Martín de Goiti and Juan de Salcedo, to explore the island of Luzon.
The Spaniards arrived on the island of Luzon in 1570. After quarrels and misunderstandings between the Muslim natives and the Spaniards, they fought for control of the land and settlements. After several months of warfare the natives were defeated, and the Spaniards made a peace pact with the councils of Rajah Sulaiman III, Lakan Dula, and Rajah Matanda who handed over the city to the Spaniards.
Spanish colonial period (1571–1898)
thumb|A 1734 map of Intramuros, from the [[Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de las Yslas Filipinas|left|173x173px]]
Legazpi declared the area of Manila as the new capital of the Spanish colony on June 24, 1571, because of its strategic location and rich resources. He also proclaimed the sovereignty of the Monarchy of Spain over the whole archipelago. King Philip II of Spain delighted at the new conquest achieved by Legazpi and his men, awarding the city a coat of arms and declaring it as: Ciudad Insigne y Siempre Leal (English: "Distinguished and Ever Loyal City"). It was settled and became the political, military, and religious center of the Spanish Empire in Asia.thumb|268x268px|[[Gates of Intramuros#Puerta de Sta. Lucia|Puerta de Santa Lucía in 1873. ]]thumb|An 1851 map of Intramuros|left|176x176pxThe city was in constant danger of natural and man-made disasters and worse, attacks from foreign invaders. In 1574, a fleet of Chinese pirates led by Limahong attacked the city and destroyed it before the Spaniards drove them away. The colony had to be rebuilt again by the survivors. These attacks prompted the construction of the wall.
The city of stone began during the rule of Governor-General Santiago de Vera. construction of the walls began on 1590 and continued under many governor-generals until 1872. By the middle of 1592, Dasmarinas wrote the King about the satisfactory development of the new walls and fortification. Since the construction was carried on during different periods and often far apart, the walls were not built according to any uniform plan.
Improvements continued during the terms of the succeeding Governor-Generals. Governor-General Juan de Silva executed certain work on the fortifications in 1609 which was improved by Juan Niño de Tabora in 1626, and by Diego Fajardo Chacón in 1644. The erection of the Baluarte de San Diego was also completed that year, replacing the Nuestra Senora de Guia. This bastion, shaped like an "ace of spades" is the southernmost point of the wall and the first of the large bastions added to the encircling walls, then of no great height nor of finished construction. Ravelins and reductos were added to strengthen weak areas and serve as outer defenses. A moat was built around the city with the Pasig River serving as a natural barrier on one side. By the 18th century, the city was totally enclosed. The last construction works were completed by the start of the 19th century.
In the initial period of colonization, there were a total of 1,200 Spanish families living in the vicinity of Intramuros, 600 Spanish families within the walls and another 600 living in the suburbs outside Intramuros. In addition to this were about 400 Spanish soldiers garrisoned at the walled city.
Gallery of structures
<gallery widths="180" heights="150">
File:Benavides Monument Santo Tomas Intramuros Manila Philippines.jpg|Santo Domingo Church
File:Unibersidad de Santo Thomas Manila.webp|University of Santo Tomas entrance arch
File:San Agustin Municipal house footbridge Intramuros, Manila , Philippines.jpg|Augustinian Provincial House footbridge over Real Street.
File:Intramuros Manila Philippines footbridge.jpg|San Agustin provincial house.
File:Santo Tomas walled city Philippines.jpg|Plaza de Santo Tomas
File:Main Courtyard University of Santo Tomas Manila Philippines 1800's.jpg|Fountain of the University of Santo Tomas
File:San Juan de Dios Church, Intramuros, Manila, Philippines 1762.jpg|San Juan de Dios Church
File:San Juan de Dios Hospital Intramuros Manila.png|San Juan de Dios Hospital
File:Ateneo de Manila Arch Philippines 1800's.jpg|Entrance arch of the Ateneo de Manila University
File:Ateneo Intramuros Manila Art Gallery.jpg|Ateneo Art Gallery
File:Colegio de San José Manila (Intramuros) Philippines.jpg|San José of Manila
File:College of Santa Isabel, Manila, Philippines.jpg|College of Santa Isabel
File:San-Juan-de-Letran.jpg|San Juan de Letran
File:Santa catalina and Letran Manila Philippines.jpg|Santa Catalina and Letran
File:San Ignacio church interior Intramuros Manila Philippines 2.png|One of the interior doors of San Ignacio Church
File:San Ignacio church interior Intramuros Manila Philippines.jpg|San Ignacio Church interior
File:Parian Gate Intramuros, Manila Philippines.jpg|Parian Gate with view of Hospital de San Juan de Dios
File:Old baroque santo domingo church intramuros Manila Philippines.jpg|The old Santo Domingo Church
</gallery>
American period (1898–1946)
thumb|1902 photo taken by US military personnel showing Spanish artillerythumb|Aerial view of the Walled City, 1939After the end of the Spanish–American War, Spain surrendered the Philippines and several other territories to the United States as part of the terms of the Treaty of Paris for $20 million. The American flag was raised at Fort Santiago on August 13, 1898, indicating the start of American rule over the city. The Ayuntamiento became the seat of the Philippine Commission of the United States in 1901. Fort Santiago became the headquarters of the Philippine Division of the United States Army.
The Americans made drastic changes to Manila, such as in 1903, when the walls from the Santo Domingo Gate up to the Almacenes Gate were removed as the wharf on the southern bank of the Pasig River was improved. The stones removed were used for other construction happening around the city.
The walls were breached in four areas to ease access to the city: the southwestern end of Calle Aduana (now Andres Soriano Jr. Ave.); the eastern end of Calle Anda; the northeastern end of Calle Victoria (previously known as Calle de la Escuela); and the southeastern end of Calle Palacio (now General Luna Street). The double moats that surrounded Intramuros were deemed unsanitary and were filled in with mud dredged from Manila Bay, where the present Port of Manila is now located. The moats were transformed into a municipal golf course by the city.
Reclamations for the construction of the Port of Manila, the Manila Hotel, and Rizal Park obscured the old walls and skyline of the city from Manila Bay. The Americans also founded the first school under the new government, the Manila High School, on June 11, 1906, along Victoria Street.
In 1936, Commonwealth Act No. 171 was passed requiring that all future buildings to be constructed in Intramuros adopt Spanish colonial type architecture.
World War II and Japanese occupation
In December 1941, the Imperial Japanese Army invaded the Philippines. The first casualties in Intramuros were the destruction of Santo Domingo Church and the original University of Santo Tomas campus during an assault. The whole city of Manila was declared by General Douglas MacArthur as an open city as Manila was indefensible.
thumb|Ruins of Intramuros cause by the [[Battle of Manila (1945)|Battle of Manila 1945]]
In January 1945, the battle for the liberation of Manila began when American troops returned. Intense urban fighting occurred between the combined American and Filipino troops under the United States Army and Philippine Commonwealth Army including recognized guerrillas, against the 30,000 Japanese defenders. As the battle continued, both sides inflicted heavy damage on the city culminating with the Manila massacre by Japanese troops.
The Imperial Japanese Army was pushed back, eventually retreating into the Intramuros district. General MacArthur approved heavy shelling, which resulted in deaths of over 16,665 Japanese within Intramuros. Over 100,000 Filipino men, women and children died from February 3 to March 3, 1945, during the Battle of Manila.
At the end of World War II, all of the buildings and structures in Intramuros were destroyed, with only the damaged San Agustin Church still standing.
Contemporary period (1946–present)
thumb|327x327px|Blancos Garden
In 1951, Intramuros was declared a historical monument and Fort Santiago, a national shrine with Republic Act 597, with the policy of restoring, reconstructing, and urban planning of Intramuros. In 1956, Republic Act 1607 declared Intramuros a "commercial, residential and educational district", opening up the district to development disregarding the historicity of the area. The same law also repealed Commonwealth Act No. 171 and Republic Act No. 597. Several laws and decrees also followed but results were deemed unsatisfactory due to limited funds.thumb|[[Ayuntamiento de Manila|298x298px]]In 1979, the Intramuros Administration (IA) was created by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1616, signed by President Ferdinand Marcos on April 10 of that year.
Since then, the IA has been slowly restoring the walls, the sub-features of the fortification, and the city within. The remaining five original gates have been restored or rebuilt: Isabel II Gate, Parian Gate, Real Gate, Santa Lucía Gate and the Postigo Gate. The entrances made by the Americans by breaching the walls at four locations are now spanned by walkways thereby creating a connection, seamless in design and character to the original walls. Buildings destroyed during the war were subsequently rebuilt: Manila Cathedral was rebuilt and was opened to the public in 1958, Ayuntamiento de Manila was rebuilt in 2013, while the San Ignacio Church and Convent is currently being reconstructed as the Museo de Intramuros.thumb|Intramuros and South Harbor in 2018In January 2015, during Pope Francis's visit to the Philippines, he led a mass at the Manila Cathedral that was attended by an estimated 2,000 bishops, priests and religious leaders of the Philippine Catholic Church. Anthology, an annual 3-day festival about architecture and design, was first launched in June 2016 at Intramuros. Since then, it has been renting Fort Santiago as a venue where seminars and other activities were held, with guest speakers from local and international people from the field of architecture and design. It is made possible through the partnership of WTA Architecture + Design Studio and the IA, who are also responsible for the critically acclaimed the Book Stop Intramuros located in Plaza Roma.thumb|The Bayleaf Intramuros Hotel is an example of [[adaptive reuse of postwar buildings in the area.]]
The Department of Tourism along with the IA launched the first major project of the newly created Faith Sector that focuses on the historic and cultural religious wealth of the Walled City. For the 2018 lenten season, seven religious destinations can be visited. For the first time since World War II, Visita Iglesia is once again possible in Intramuros. The seven destinations are the Manila Cathedral, San Agustin Church, San Ignacio Church, Guadalupe Shrine in Fort Santiago, Knights of Columbus Fr. Willman Chapel, Lyceum of the Philippines University Chapel, and the Mapua University Chapel. The event pays homage to the original seven churches during the prewar Intramuros. The 2018 lenten season event draws Infinite People from both foreign and local tourists in Intramuros. The IA, together with the Royal Danish Embassy in Manila, and Felta Multimedia, Inc., opened the iMake History Fortress at the Baluarte de Santa Barbara in Fort Santiago last March 19, 2018. The facility is the first history-based Lego education center in the world.
The COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 caused the IA to temporarily close several sites within Intramuros including Fort Santiago, Museo de Intramuros, and Casa Manila.
City walls
thumb|Intramuros walls near Puerta Real
The stone outline of the defensive wall of Intramuros is irregular in shape, following the contours of Manila Bay and the curvature of the Pasig River. The Muralla walls covered an area of of land, surrounded by thick stones and high walls that rise to . The walls stretched to an estimated 3-5 kilometers in length. An inner moat (foso) surrounds the perimeter of the wall and an outer moat (contrafoso) surrounds the walls that face the city.
Defense structures
thumb|Watchtower of the [[Baluarte de San Andres]]
Several bulwarks (baluarte), ravelins (ravellin) and redoubts (reductos) are strategically located along the massive walls of Intramuros following the design of medieval fortifications. The seven bastions (clockwise, from Fort Santiago) are the Bastions of Tenerias, Aduana, San Gabriel, San Lorenzo, San Andres, San Diego, and Plano.
Gates
thumb|The Puerta Real (Royal Gate) was built in 1780
Before the American Era, entrance to the city was through eight gates or Puertas. They were, clockwise, from Fort Santiago, Puerta Almacenes, Puerta de la Aduana, Puerta de Santo Domingo, Puerta Isabel II, Puerta del Parian, Puerta Real, Puerta Sta. Lucia, and Puerta del Postigo. Three of the gates were destroyed. Two of them, the Almacenes Gate and the Santo Domingo/Customs Gate, were destroyed by American engineers when they opened up the northern part of the walls to the wharves.
The Banderas Gate was destroyed during an earthquake and was never rebuilt. Formerly, drawbridges were raised and the city was closed and under the watch of sentinels from 11:00 pm until 4:00 am. It continued so until 1852, when, in consequence of the earthquake of that year, it was decreed that the gates should remain open night and day.
thumb|351x351px|San Agustin convent
There has been minimal commercialization occurring within the district, despite restoration efforts. A few fast food establishments set up shop at the turn of the 21st century, catering mostly to the student population within Intramuros. Shipping companies have also set up offices inside the district. Concerts, tours and exhibitions are frequently held within Intramuros to draw both local and foreign tourists.
Register of Styles
The Intramuros Register of Styles is the main architectural code of Intramuros, the historic core of the City of Manila, Philippines. It became part of Presidential Decree No. 1616, as amended, when it was gazetted by the Official Gazette of the Philippines on June 17, 2022. The Intramuros Administration is the agency of the Philippine Government responsible for the implementation of the Register of Styles.
Intramuros in Manila is the only locality in the Philippines where, for cultural reasons, the use, height, scale, and aesthetics of all new constructions and development are pre-determined and strictly regulated under the force of a national law. The Register of Styles, as an integral part of Presidential Decree No. 1616, is the main legal document prescribing and guiding the implementation of pre-war architectural colonial styles in Intramuros.
The Register of Styles is the first document to detail the historical styles of Intramuros. It was authored by Rancho Arcilla, who was then the Archivist of the Intramural Administration, and under the initiative of Guiller Asido, the former Administrator of Intramuros. The Intramuros Administration oversee the day-to-day administration of the district, including the issuance of building permits, traffic re-routing, among others. Its office is located at Palacio del Gobernador in Plaza Roma.
Barangays
Intramuros is composed of five barangays numbered 654 to 658. These five barangays only serve the welfare of the city's constituents because they neither have executive nor legislative powers.
Barangays 654, 655, and 656 are part of Zone 69 of the City of Manila, while barangays 657 and 658 are part of Zone 70.
{| class="wikitable"
!Barangay
!Land area (km<sup>2</sup>)
!Population (2024 census)
|-
! colspan=3 | Zone 69
|-
|Barangay 654
|0.08678
|1,492
|-
|Barangay 655
|0.2001
|1,714
|-
|Barangay 656
|0.3210
|519
|-
! colspan=3 | Zone 70
|-
|Barangay 657
|0.3264
|919
|-
|Barangay 658
|0.2482
|2,793
|}
See also
- Spanish colonial fortifications in the Philippines
- Intramuros Consortium
- History of Manila
References
Citations
Sources
- U.S. War Department (1903). "Annual Reports of the War Department, 1903 Vol. III". Washington Government Printing Office, 1901.
External links
- Intramuros Administration – Official website