ArchitectureFormer Convent of the NativityTepoztlán

Declared In 1994 by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, the former Convent of Tepoztlán is known as the former Convent of the Nativity and is dedicated to the Virgin of the same name. It was built between 1555 and 1580 by villagers of the old township of Tepoztlan.  With a motif that highlights Dominican Temples, it has a large atrium, an open chapel, chapel posas or quadrangular vaulted structures located at the edge of the courtyard, the church, and convent.

The facade is Plateresque and shows the Virgin Mary accompanied by Fray Domingo de Guzman, founder of the order of Dominica and Catherine of Siena, a Saint venerated by members of the order. In 1939 President Lazaro Cardenas handed over the direction of the ex-convent to the INAH, the National Institute of Anthropology and History.

In 1993 INAH finally began the restoration work.  The INAH has also preserved the Historical Museum and Documentation Center of Tepoztlan since 2000 and the Carlos Pellicer Museum of Pre-Hispanic Art since 1965.

The main religious festival of the Former Convent of the Nativity takes place on September 8, together with the celebrations of the Tepozteco Challenge.