El Templete Museum, Havana
Discover El Templete, a neoclassical monument and museum commemorating the founding of the town of Havana in Cuba
El Templete Museum ©Leo Kerner.
The El Templete Museum is located in a small Doric neoclassical style chapel on the east side of the Plaza de Armas, one of the four main squares in Old Havana, Cuba. This small building resembles the appearance of a Greco-Roman Temple and commemorates the founding of the village.
This chapel was built in 1828, in the same place where, in November 1519, under a Ceiba tree, the first mass in Havana was held. Inside, you’ll find three grand canvases about said mass with the Spanish authorities by French artist Jean Baptiste Vermay; and a marble urn which contains the remains of the architect of this monumental chapel, and his wife.
El Templete Monument©L.Kerner.
It is surrounded by a small garden where you’ll also find a monument in honor of Christopher Columbus.
The founding of Havana is celebrated every year on November 16th by its inhabitants, especially in honor of the Ceiba tree in the building’s interior, similar to that of the 1519 mass.
More information:
Location:
Plaza de Armas, La Habana Vieja, Cuba.
Ticket price:
Free.
Opening hours:
From approximately 9:00am to 6:00pm.
Interactive map:
What to see in Old Havana
- Essential places to visit:
- Plaza de la Catedral Square
- Havana Cathedral
- Palacio de los Marqueses de Aguas Claras Palace
- Museo de Arte Colonial
- Plaza de Armas Square
- Castillo de la Real Fuerza (Castle of the Royal Force)
- Museo de Navegación (Maritime Museum)
- City Museum (Capitanes Generales Palace)
- Plaza de San Francisco de Asís Square
- San Francisco de Asís Convent and Religious Art Museum
- Rum Museum
- Plaza Vieja Square
- Planetarium
- Calle Mercaderes Street
- Maqueta Museum of Old Havana (Scale Model Museum)
- Calle Obispo Street
- Places to visit (See for superior stays to 3 days):
- La Bodeguita del Medio
- Palacio del Conde de Lombillo Palace
- Marqués de Arcos Palace
- Segundo Cabo Palace
- El Templete
- Automobile Museum
- Casa de la Obra Pía House
- Bacardí Building
- Plaza del Cristo Square
- Belén Convent
- Casa Natal de José Martí (Birthplace Museum)
- Iglesia de San Francisco de Paula Church
- Other places:
- Alejandro Humboldt Museum
- Fototeca de Cuba
- Pablo de la Torriente Brau Cultural Center
- Marqués de Prado Ameno Cards Museum
- National Museum of Natural History of Cuba
- La Casona Art Center
- Simón Bolívar House Museum
- Armería 9 de Abril Museum
- Chocolate Museum
- Casa de Asia House Museum
- Casa de África House Museum
- Casa de México Benito Juárez House Museum
- Tobacco Museum
- Firefighters Museum
- Oswaldo Guayasamín House Museum
- Numismatic Museum
- 28 de Septiembre de los CDR Museum
- Goldsmithing Museum
- Mural Painting Museum
- Farmacia Habanera Museum
- Santa Clara Convent
- Iglesia Parroquial del Espíritu Santo Church
- IIglesia del Santo Cristo del Buen Viaje Church
- Nuestra Señora de Kazán Orthodox Cathedral
- Iglesia del Santo Ángel Custodio Church
- El Floridita
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