History

Today, we visited the National Museum of Costa Rica. The exhibits were cool—they showed the history and science of the country—but I thought the location was the most interesting part.

The museum is located on the Bellavista Headquarters, the former headquarters of the national army. Bellavista means "beautiful view", but this beautiful location has an ugly history.

The building was started in 1917, by Federico Tinoco Granados, a tyrannical president who abused the military for oppressive purposes. Construction of the building was stopped when his regime was overthrown.

The headquarters was later finished and then used during the Costa Rican Civil War in 1948. The Civil War was a short and bloody struggle over the results of a presidential election (one side believed the election was fraudulent). Afterwards, the victorious junta government abolished the army, and the headquarters became a museum.

Although Costa Rica is a peaceful and beautiful country today, it is important to remember its bloody background.



~Nadia