Puebla (city)

Puebla de Zaragoza (ˈpweβla; Cuetlaxcoapan), formally Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, formerly Puebla de los Ángeles during colonial times, or known simply as Puebla, is the seat of Puebla Municipality. It is the capital and largest city of the state of Puebla, and the fifth largest city in Mexico, after Mexico City, Tijuana, Ecatepec, and León. A viceregal era planned city, it is located in the southern part of Central Mexico on the main route between Mexico City and Mexico's main Atlantic port, Veracruz—about east southeast of Mexico City and about west of Veracruz. The city was founded in 1531 in an area called Cuetlaxcoapan, which means "where serpents change their skin", between two of the main indigenous settlements at the time, Tlaxcala and Cholula. This valley was not populated in the 16th century, as in the pre-Hispanic period this area was primarily used for the "flower wars" between a number of populations. Due to its history and architectural styles ranging from Renaissance to Mexican Baroque, the city was named a World Heritage Site in 1987. The city is also famous for mole poblano, chiles en nogada and Talavera pottery. However, most of its economy is based on industry. Being both the fourth largest city in Mexico and the fourth largest Metropolitan area in Mexico, it has a current population of 3,250,000 people, and the city serves as one of the main hubs for eastern-central Mexico. Students from surrounding states attend its prestigious universities, such as BUAP, UDLAP, Ibero, among others. The city also excels in industry, having the world's largest Volkswagen factory outside Germany, located in the Municipality of Cuautlancingo and an Audi plant in San José Chiapa. As a result, many suppliers to Volkswagen and Audi assembly plants have opened factories in the metropolitan area of Puebla. Timeline of Puebla and List of buildings in Puebla City Some historians consider that the area where the city is located nowadays was not inhabited in the Pre-Columbian era, except in the 15th century, when this valley was set aside for use for the so-called Flower wars among the populations of Itzocan, Tepeaca, Huejotzingo, Texmelucan and Tlaxcala, with those soldiers captured being used as sacrifice victims.