Durango City or Victoria de Durango was originally founded by Spanish colonists in 1563 as a mining town. Mining remains a huge part of the state of Durango’s economy. For some reason the state is mostly known for agriculture and livestock today, probably just good marketing, as mining is much less attractive for tourists.
The Villa de Durango was founded on 08-JUL-1563 by Francisco de Ibarra. Durango was the name of a town in the Spanish province of Vizcaya, where Ibarra was born. The city was planned by Alonso de Pacheco. Francisco de Ibarra donates a mine to the indigenous people and the clergy on the condition that they inhabit the settlement. Today the city has almost 600,000 inhabitants and a show mine beneath the Cathedral Basilica.