Alhóndiga de Granaditas

The Alhóndiga de Granaditas (Regional Museum of Guanajuato) (public grain exchange) is an old grain storage building in Guanajuato City, Mexico. This historic building was created to replace an old grain exchange near the city's river. The name Alhóndiga translates roughly from both Arabic and Spanish as grain market or warehouse. It is equivalent to the regional grain exchange. Its construction lasted from 1798 to 1809, by orders of Juan Antonio de Riaño y Bárcena, a Spaniard who was the quartermaster of the city during the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and his insurgent army stormed the building during the first battle of the Mexican War of Independence, leading to the legend of el Pípila. The building received World Heritage listing as part of the Historic Town of Guanajuato in 1988.