Iglesia de San Francisco

Lonely Planet review

The Iglesia de San Francisco was established in 1538 by Francisco de Aroca soon after the founding of the city. It began as a makeshift structure; the current church wasn't completed until 1581. In 1809, when the struggle for Bolivian independence got under way, a law passed by Mariscal Sucre transferred San Francisco's religious community to La Paz and turned the building over to the army, to be used as a military garrison, market and customs hall.

In 1838 the top floor collapsed, but it was rebuilt and later used as a military bunkhouse. It wasn't re-consecrated until 1925. Architecturally, San Francisco's most interesting feature is its mudéjar ceiling. In the belfry is the Campana de la Libertad, Bolivia's Liberty Bell, which called patriots to revolution in 1825.