Potosí

Diego Huallpa, an indigenous prospector, is traditionally credited with the discovery of the Cerro Rico in 1545, which led to the founding and rapid growth of Potosí due to its extraordinary silver wealth.

For centuries, it was the location of the Spanish colonial silver mint. A considerable amount of the city's colonial architecture has been preserved in the historic center of the city, which—along with the globally important Cerro Rico de Potosí—are part of a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Potosí lies at the foot of the Cerro de Potosí—sometimes referred to as the Cerro Rico ("rich mountain")—a mountain popularly conceived of as being "made of" silver ore that dominates the city. The Cerro Rico is the reason for Potosí's historical importance since it was the major supply of silver for the Spanish Empire until Guanajuato in Mexico surpassed it in the 18th century. At the turn of the 16th/17th centuries, it was the second largest city in the world, after London.