San Juan del Río owes its name to the fact that it was founded on June 24, 1531, the day of San Juan Bautista, “del Río” was added for the river that runs through the city.

When the Spaniards first arrived, this area was inhabited by Otomi groups that congregated around the first chapel built by Franciscan friars, who laid out the main streets.

San Juan del Río was a town of great economic, political and social importance in New Spain, due to its strategic location for the conquest and colonization of the north. Together with Querétaro, it provided a gateway to the mining areas of Zacatecas, Guanajuato and San Luis Potosí.

In the 17th century, San Juan del Río, founded as an indigenous town, began to take on a more urban appearance and intense construction activity began. Monasteries, schools such as the Beaterio de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, and the San Juan de Dios hospital that today houses the Autonomous University of Querétaro were founded. At the end of the century, the construction of a new cathedral began, and was completed at the beginning of the 18th century, together with the town’s famous bridge, known as La Historia, built by the architect Pedro de Arrieta. In 1847, with Mexico now an independent country, the town of San Juan del Río received the title of city.

During the 19th century, it was a place of lodging for several significant historical figures. Around 1853 the writer Guillermo Prieto stayed in the city and in his account of his time here he reported on the economic problems of the region. In 1863 President Benito Juárez spent the night in the city. Also, during the second empire, the Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg visited San Juan del Río, and some of the oldest photographs of the city belong to that time.

During the Porfiriato, the arrival of innovations in communications and transport introduced changes to San Juan del Río, such as the construction of the bridge for the railroad that linked Querétaro with Mexico City. During the Mexican Revolution, the supporters of Venustiano Carranza and Pancho Villa transformed the city by destroying the railroad bridge, demolishing a gateway, and constructing the Jardín Madero, known today as the Plaza de los Fundadores (Founders’ Square).

The layout of San Juan del Río is mixed, with two types of street plan coexisting: one irregular, corresponding to the indigenous area, and another with straight streets that form a regular checkerboard, coinciding with the Spanish area. Both areas had their own churches and cemeteries, the Church of San Juan Bautista for the Spanish and the Church of the Calvary with its cemetery of Santa Veracruz in the indigenous area. The city also presents characteristics typical of Spanish-American urban settlements, such as a main square in the center, around which the buildings housing the civil and religious powers are located.

The Zone of Historical Monuments decreed by the President of the Republic in 1986 is located in the southeast of the state in the municipality of San Juan del Río, 51 kilometers from the city of Querétaro. The declaration states that the protected area is 1.14 km2 and is made up of 48 blocks containing a number of buildings considered of historical interest.

The urban profile of the area is characterized by the towers and domes of its religious buildings, which include the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista, the churches of El Señor del Sacro Monte, Santo Domingo, of the Calvary, Jesús de la Portería, of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Shrine of Guadalupe. The city is also characterized by its gardens and squares such as Fundadores, Independencia, Leona Vicario and the Plaza del Santuario del Señor de Sacromonte, and the Jardín de la Familia. Another distinctive feature of the city is the Puente de Piedra or Puente de la Historia, across which the old Camino Real (Royal Road) runs.

Other buildings that stand out for their historical and architectural value are the Casa Benito Juárez, Casa Díaz González Campa, Casa Diligencia, the former Hospital of San Juan de Dios, the cemetery of Santa Veracruz, the railroad station, the Tithes Gate and the Kings’ Gate.

It was declared a Zone of Historical Monuments in 1986, and has also been recorded by UNESCO on the World Heritage List since 2010 as part of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro.