Silver City potosí
Potosí is located at 4090 meters and is the highest city in the world. It owes its origin to the discovery of silver ore in the Cerro Rico (Rich Mountain) in 1544. The silver ore was immediately mined on a large scale (unfortunately under very poor working conditions) and shipped as silver to Spain. The city developed into one of the largest and richest in South America. But the mines were depleted and the fall in the price of silver gave potosí's economy the final blow. The state mines have now been closed and the city now lives on smaller-scale extraction and tourism. The richness of yesteryear is certainly reflected in this atmospheric city with beautifully coloured Spanish colonial houses, churches, cathedrals, monasteries and squares!