Tlaxcala ( , , ), officially Tlaxcala de Xicohténcatl, is the capital city of the Mexican state of Tlaxcala and seat of the municipality of the same name. The city did not exist during the pre-Hispanic period but was laid out by the Spanish as a center of evangelization and governance after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. The city was designated as a diocese but eventually lost that status to Puebla as its population declined. The city still has many of its old colonial structures, including the former Franciscan monastery, and newer civic structures like the Xicohtencatl Theatre.
History
thumb|left|City Hall complex was set the Royal House
thumb|left|Pre Hispanic ceramics at the Regional Museum
thumb|left|upright|[[Atrial cross from the early colonial period]]
The name Tlaxcala most likely comes from a Nahuatl phrase which means "place of corn bread." The Aztec glyph for the Mesoamerican dominion is two hills from which emerge a pair of hands making a tortilla.
At the time of the Spanish conquest, the Tlaxcala area was heavily populated but with epidemics, emigrations and the construction of the Nochistongo canal to drain the Valley of Mexico, most of the indigenous population disappeared. A document of 1625 states that there were 300,000 in the city in the 16th century but only 700 remained by that time it was written. Most of these buildings are centered on the main square called the Plaza de la Constitución. This square measures on each side and was established when the Spanish laid out the city in 1524. The current name was given in 1813 to honor the Cádiz Constitution as well as the Mexican constitutions of 1857 and 1917. In the center of this square is the Santa Cruz Fountain which was donated to the city by Philip IV in 1646. There is also a kiosk which was constructed in the 19th century.
The Portal Hidalgo is on the east side of the main square, built as commercial space in 1550. It is still used as such today although the structures have been modified since then as seen in the differences in the columns and sizes of the arches. The city hall was moved from its centuries old home in the "Casas Reales" to this complex. The interior is dominated by the city council chamber (Salón de Cabildos) along with various municipal offices. On the lower level inside its section of the arches, there is a cultural space called "La Tlaxcalteca" which sells regional handcrafts and other goods as well as books about Tlaxcala's history.
Historic buildings
The Capilla Real de Indias or Royal Indian Chapel was built in the 16th century as a church for indigenous nobility. At the end of the 18th century, a fire destroyed the nave and much of the rest collapsed as a result of an earthquake. The ruins remained abandoned until the structure was restored in 1984 to house the state's judicial branch. The main nave of the church has one of the few examples of Moorish art in the Americas.
The Culture Palace is a late Neoclassical building which was begun in 1939. It has a brick façade with a woven mat design interspersed with ornamental gray sandstone. It was originally built to be the middle and preparatory school for the state, but later it was converted into a department of the Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala and finally in 1991, housed the Tlaxcala Cultural Institute. It is located in the south of the state, where most of the population is concentrated. It borders the municipalities of Totolac, Apetatitlán de Antonio Carvajal, Tepeyanco, Tetlatlahuca, San Damián Texoloc, San Jerónimo Zacualpan, Chiautempan, La Magdalena Tlaltelulco, Santa Isabel Xiloxoxtla and Panotla. The municipal government consists of a municipal president, an officer called a síndico and seven representatives called regidores.
| source 2 = Deutscher Wetterdienst (sun, 1961–1990)
| date = August 2012
Gallery
<gallery mode="packed-hover">
File:Ayuntamiento de la Cd. de Tlaxcala.JPG|City Hall complex
File:Calle de Tlaxcala de Xicohténcatl - Mayo 2019 (1).jpg
File:Street in Tlaxcala city in 2008.jpg
File:Teatro Xicoténcatl, exterior.jpg|Xicotencatl Theatre
File:Museo de la Memoria en Tlaxcala.jpg|Museum of the Memory
File:Plaza de Toros Jorge el "Ranchero" Aguilar.jpg|The bullring "Jorge "Rancher" Aguilar" and church
File:Templo del Buen Vecino 02.JPG|Del Buen Vecino Church
File:Fachada y atrio Ex Convento de San Francisco de la Asunción de Nuestra Señora.JPG|First convent in the continental Americas in Tlaxcala, named for the Assumption
File:Carrera por la familia en Tlaxcala.jpg|Aqueduct
File:Río Zahuapan en Tlaxcala.jpg|Zahuapan River, channeled by the Spanish
File:Piñatas on Independencia Street in the city of Tlaxcala.jpg
File:Centro, Tlaxcala de Xicohténcatl, Tlax., Mexico - panoramio (77).jpg|Escalinatas de los Héroes
File:Estatua-Tlahuicole---Ciudad-de-Tlaxcala.jpg|Statue of Tlahuicole
</gallery>
Twin towns and sister cities
- Salé (Morocco), 1997.
- Medellín (Spain), 1997.
- Saltillo (Mexico), 2009.
- Villa de Álvarez (Mexico), 2010.
- Chilpancingo (Mexico), 2010.