Palacio Quemado

Facing Plaza Murillo, the Palacio Quemado, or Burnt Palace, was long the seat of Bolivia's presidency and takes its name from a nineteenth-century fire during a popular uprising. The neoclassical building has witnessed coups, sieges and the assassination of a president whose body was hung in the adjoining square. Restored many times, it retains ornate state rooms and a ceremonial guard. Though executive functions have moved to a modern high-rise nearby, the historic palace remains a potent symbol of the nation's turbulent political history.