Casa del Escribano Don Juan de Vargas

Updated April 16, 2024

Museo Casa del Escribano Don Juan de Vargas – Sistema de Información …

## Casa del Escribano Don Juan de Vargas in Tunja, Colombia: Complete Visitor Guide

Casa del Escribano Don Juan de Vargas is one of the most important colonial mansions in Tunja’s historic center, today functioning as the city’s Museo Colonial. The house dates from the late 16th century, is built in a Mudéjar–Andalusian style, and occupies a prime spot on Calle 20 #8-40 / 8-52 in the Centro Histórico of Tunja, Boyacá, Colombia.

Tunja itself sits at roughly 2,800 m above sea level, making it one of Colombia’s highest and coolest regional capitals. That altitude, combined with the city’s dense cluster of colonial monuments, explains why this house-museum often appears on shortlists of must-see sites in Boyacá.

Online ratings on travel and attraction platforms consistently place the museum around 4.5–5 out of 5, reflecting strong visitor satisfaction with both the architecture and the guided visit.

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## A Brief History of Don Juan de Vargas and His House

The mansion was built for Juan de Vargas Matajudíos, a royal scribe (“escribano del rey”) who arrived in the New Kingdom of Granada with his father Diego de Vargas in 1564. Vargas served as the official scribe of Tunja from 1585 until his death in 1620, a powerful administrative position in the colonial city.

Construction of the house began around 1585, at the height of Tunja’s colonial boom. The building later became the seat of the city’s Museo Colonial in 1984 and today also hosts cultural institutions such as the Fondo Mixto de Cultura de Boyacá.

The full family surname “Matajudíos” (literally “Jew-killer”) appears in historical records and in some current official descriptions. It reflects the antisemitic attitudes of parts of early modern Iberian society rather than anything unique to the site itself. Modern interpretation focuses on the building’s architectural and artistic value, but it’s worth being aware that the name carries discriminatory connotations rooted in colonial-era persecution of people of Jewish origin and “conversos.”

The house has undergone major restorations in 1952, 1980 and 1987 to stabilise the structure and conserve its paintings and woodwork, which is why much of the decoration is still visible today despite its age.

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## Architecture: Mudéjar–Andalusian Design in the Andes

Casa del Escribano Don Juan de Vargas is frequently described in local heritage sources as one of Tunja’s finest mansions, characterised by a blend of Mudéjar and Andalusian influences. Key architectural features include:

### 1. Andalusian-Style Patio and Garden

– The building is organised around an interior courtyard with a central fountain and planted garden, directly inspired by Andalusian domestic architecture.
– Arched arcades with stone columns frame the courtyard, and wooden balconies on the upper level overlook the space, creating a cool, sheltered microclimate that works well in Tunja’s high-altitude environment.

### 2. Mudéjar Structural Elements

– The house uses semi-circular arches and timber roofs associated with Mudéjar architecture, the Iberian tradition that blended Christian and Islamic building techniques.
– The long upper gallery, with its heavy wooden beams and carved capitals, is a clear example of this style transplanted to the Andes.

### 3. A Monumental Colonial Façade

– From Calle 20, the façade presents a heavy stone portal, a carved shield bearing the Vargas coat of arms, and an inscription plaque referencing the building’s history.
– Despite later modifications and restorations, the basic 16th-century layout remains intact, which is part of what makes the building a reference point in studies of colonial domestic architecture in Tunja.

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## The Painted Ceilings: Why Specialists Care About This House

The main draw for many visitors is upstairs: the painted wooden ceilings (artesonados) executed in a late-Renaissance / mannerist style around 1590.

– Central panels depict Greco-Roman deities such as Jupiter, Diana and Minerva, surrounded by grotesques, garlands, animals, and heraldic symbols.
– Art historians have linked these images to engravings by European artists like Leonard Thiry and Albrecht Dürer, whose prints circulated widely in the Spanish world and were copied onto ceilings and walls in colonial elites’ homes.
– The combination of pagan iconography with Christian elements (such as images of the Virgin and Christ included among the motifs) illustrates how European visual culture was adapted in the Americas during the late 16th century.

For non-specialists, the takeaway is simple: this is one of the few places in Colombia where you can stand under original late-1500s domestic ceiling paintings in situ rather than viewing them in a detached museum frame.

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## Inside the Museo Colonial: What You’ll See

Today the Casa del Escribano serves as the Colonial Museum for Tunja and hosts exhibitions spanning roughly the 16th to 19th centuries.

According to official tourism sources, collections include:

– Religious and secular paintings from the 16th–18th centuries.
– Wooden sculpture and carvings, including altarpiece fragments and decorative religious objects.
– Furniture and domestic objects typical of colonial elite households.
– Ceramics, porcelain and metalwork, many imported from Europe or other parts of the Spanish Empire, illustrating trade connections.

Visitor reviews mention a guided circuit through the salons, with explanations of both the artwork and the daily life of a colonial scribe’s household.

Several independent accounts also point out that the building shows signs of under-funding and wear in some areas, while still retaining a high level of authenticity and offering significant insight into colonial Tunja.

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## Practical Visit Information

### Location

– Address: Calle 20 #8-40 / #8-52, Centro Histórico, Tunja, Boyacá, Colombia.
– The house is within the mapped Centro Histórico de Tunja, which concentrates many of the city’s principal historic buildings.

Several guides note that you can walk there in a few minutes from Plaza de Bolívar or Plaza de Boyacá using Calle 20 and Carrera 8 as reference points.

### Opening Hours (Check Locally – May Change)

Museum directories and attraction platforms give broadly consistent opening times:

– Monday: Closed
– Tuesday–Friday: roughly 09:00–11:30 and 14:00–16:30
– Saturday & Sunday: roughly 09:30–16:00 (continuous)

These schedules come from third-party museum and travel sites, not from an official real-time feed. Hours at small public museums in Colombia can change due to staffing or maintenance. Treat the times above as a baseline and confirm with the Tunja tourist office or local authorities before you go.

### Admission Fees (Likely to Change)

Different sources list different prices, indicating that admission has increased over time:

– A museum directory lists COP 8,000 for adults, COP 3,000 for children and COP 5,000 per person for groups.
– A TripAdvisor review from a past visit mentions paying around COP 2,000 for entry.

This shows clearly that the fee schedule has changed at least once. The factual takeaway: there is a paid entry system, but you should check the current rate on site or via the Tunja tourism office rather than relying on any specific historic price.

### Guided Visits and Language

– Reviews consistently mention that there is an on-site guide who leads visitors through the rooms and explains the art and history.
– One detailed review explicitly notes that the standard tour is conducted in Spanish only, and recommends arranging an English-speaking guide through the tourist office if needed.

If you don’t speak Spanish, it is factually accurate that you’ll get more value from the visit by organising interpretation in advance based on these reports.

### Climate and What to Wear

Given Tunja’s altitude around 2,700–2,820 m, average daytime highs are usually in the mid-teens to high-teens °C, with cool mornings and evenings. That means:

– Expect cool temperatures inside the thick-walled house, even when Bogotá feels warm.
– A light jacket or warm layer is practical year-round; this aligns with the documented climatic averages for the city rather than being a generic assumption.

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## How Casa del Escribano Fits into a Tunja Itinerary

Heritage inventories of the Centro Histórico list Casa del Escribano Juan de Vargas alongside sites like Casa del Fundador Gonzalo Suárez Rendón, colonial churches and cloisters, underscoring its role within a larger ensemble of 16th-century architecture.

A realistic, fact-based way to incorporate it into your day is:

1. Start at Plaza de Bolívar or Plaza de Boyacá, where several of Tunja’s principal civic and religious buildings cluster.
2. Walk to Casa del Escribano Don Juan de Vargas on Calle 20 for the guided museum visit.
3. Combine it with other documented sites in the Centro Histórico such as Casa del Fundador Gonzalo Suárez Rendón and nearby convents and churches listed in official heritage maps.

This sequence is grounded in published maps and tourism resources rather than conjecture.

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### Final Notes on Data Reliability

– Architecture, history, and collections described above are based on Colombian tourism portals, academic summaries, and heritage-focused blogs that specialise in Tunja’s colonial architecture.
– Operating hours, ticket prices and guiding language are drawn from museum directories and recent traveller reviews; they are accurate as reported but inherently time-sensitive and should be verified before your visit.

Within those limits, Casa del Escribano Don Juan de Vargas can be described with confidence as a late-16th-century Mudéjar–Andalusian mansion in Tunja’s historic center, now functioning as a colonial art museum with significant original painted ceilings and a curated collection spanning several centuries of Andean colonial history.

Key Highlights

• Authentic colonial-era architecture with mudéjar-influenced wooden ceilings
• Period rooms with original furniture and documentary exhibits
• Intimate courtyard and traditional tiled flooring
• Interpretive displays about the role of a royal scribe in colonial administration
• Photogenic details ideal for history-focused visitors and photographers

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