El Zanjon

Discovering the origins of the city

Some historians point to El Zanjón de Granados ravines as the site of the first settlement of Buenos Aires in 1536. The remains of the city were never found, but we have been left with the testimony of Ulrich Schmidl, the first historian of the River Plate and fellow-traveler of the founder Don Pedro de Mendoza.

A section of the old Zanjón was found under this historical XIX century building which extended over the whole length of the square. Other sections of the Zanjón were unearthed including ruins of foundations, old walls, floors, water wells, sewage pits, which were built and destroyed between 1730 and 1865. According to the Buenos Aires Heritage Guide edited by the city council, this site represents the most important archaeological project in the city of Buenos Aires.

The residence, originally a mansion, had turned into a tenement house by the early 20th century. By 1985 it had been abandoned and walled off, with its ground floor four meters deep in debris. Now that restoration is complete, elegant new steel and glass elevators transport visitors to and from the illuminated depths of El Zanjón.

A fascinating underground trip into the origins of the city. Let yourself be guided with the tales left to us by the old storytellers and enjoy the unexpected: Doña María and the sunken bed, Anacleto wandering under the city and many more stories... that sound unbelievable but happen to be true...