The mascarón
City emblem.
Noelia Saiquita — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Valdiney Pimenta from Campinas - SP, Brazil — CC BY 2.0 · P. Hughes — CC BY 4.0 · Noelia Saiquita — CC BY-SA 4.0
One of South America's largest colonial buildings, built between 1753 and 1773 to mint coins from the silver of Cerro Rico, when Potosí was among the world's richest and largest cities and its coins circulated in Europe and Asia. The city has been World Heritage since 1987. A huge stone building of successive courtyards, the best known being the first, with its fountain and the big grinning mascarón face hung over the arch, now the city's emblem. Inside are the huge wooden minting machines once driven by mules, and silver-smelting furnaces. The rooms display coins of different eras, fine silverwork, colonial paintings, minerals and archaeological collections, and tell the story of the vast wealth that left Potosí and its human cost. Visits are by guided tour only, about an hour and a half. Potosí is at about 4,000 metres, one of the world's highest cities, so walk slowly. The building is cold inside, so bring a jacket. Bolivia is under a state of emergency with protests and road blockades, so check road conditions and your government's travel advice before the trip.
City emblem.
Huge wooden gear.
Through the centuries.
Historic centre of Potosí, near the main square
No, visits are by guided tour only, about an hour and a half, in several languages depending on the time.