National Palace of Culture, Managua (must see)

The National Palace of Culture is one of the buildings that did not receive damage during the earthquake in 1972. It was designed by the architect Pablo Dambach. Earlier, it housed the Congress; now it is a historic place that houses the National Library, the National Archives and the National Museum of Managua. The library contains unique editions of books in which important historic events are related. The archives have a rich stock of documentations, maps, and important documents that relate the historic events of the nation's formation. The museum has a full spectrum of exhibitions with a timeline that starts 500 million years ago. It also houses an exhibition of pottery, pre-Columbian statuary, documents that relate the formation of the lakes and volcanoes, pre-Columbian paintings, statues and ceramics.