Кубаның Матансас қаласы және оның тарихы

Municipality in Cuba

Matanzas (Cuban maˈtansas; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish Bahia de Matanzas), east of the capital Havana and west of the resort town of Varadero. Matanzas is called the City of Bridges, for the seventeen bridges that cross the three rivers that traverse the city (Rio Yumuri, San Juan, and Canimar). For this reason it was referred to as the "Venice of Cuba." It was also called "La Atenas de Cuba" ("The Athens of Cuba") for its poets. Matanzas is known as the birthplace of the music and dance traditions danzón and rumba.

Matanzas was founded in 1693 as San Carlos y San Severino de Matanzas. Matanzas was one of the regions that saw intensive development of sugar plantations during the colonial era. Consequently, many African slaves were imported to support the sugar industry, particularly during the first half of the nineteenth century. For example, in 1792 there were 1900 slaves in Matanzas, roughly 30% of its population. In 1817, the slave population of Matanzas had grown to 10,773, comprising nearly 50% of the overall population. By 1841, 53,331 slaves made up 62.7% of the population of Matanzas. Census figures for 1859 put the Matanzas slave population at 104,519. Only two women—one said to be the beautiful María de Estrada—survived, the result of being taken by a Cacique. De Estrada is said to have later escaped the "power of the Cacique" and married Pedro Sánchez Farfán in the city of Trinidad. According to municipal historian Arnaldo Jimenez de la Cal, "[i]t was the first act of rebellion of natives in Cuba."

The city is located on the north shore of the island of Cuba, on all three sides of the Bay of Matanzas. The bay cuts deep in the island, and three rivers flow in the bay inside city limits (Rio Yumuri, San Juan, and Canimar). To the south east, the landscape rises into a hill called Pan de Matanzas, divided from the Atlantic coast by the Yumuri Valley and a coastal ridge. The city of Matanzas is divided into four neighborhoods: Versalles, Matanzas, Playa and Pueblo Nuevo. The municipality is divided into the barrios of Bachicha, Bailén, Barracones, Bellamar, Camarioca, Cárcel, Ceiba Mocha, Colón, Corral Nuevo, Guanábana, Ojo de Agua, Refugio, San Luis, San Severino, Simpson y Monserrate, Versalles and Yumurí.

In 2022, the municipality of Matanzas had a population of 163,631. With a total area of , it has a population density of .

Matanzas is served by Juan Gualberto Gómez Airport, 15 km east of the city.

The city has two railway stations. The main station is on the main line from Havana to Santiago de Cuba. The electrified Hershey train operates by a different route to Havana from a separate station in the barrio of Versalles.

Matanzas is also served by Viazul and Astro buses.

After two failed attempts Matanzas had a tramway in 1916 (initially as Ferrocarril Eléctrico de Matanzas, then as city owned Compañía de Servicios Públicos de Matanzas in 1918 and Compañía de Tranvías de Matanzas in 1926). In 1952 it acquired tramcars from Havana Electric Railway, but converted with buses by new owners Omnibus Urbanos SA in 1954.

The Via Blanca highway connects the city with both Havana in the west and Varadero in the east.

The University of Matanzas is the province's high learning education institution.