Santo Domingo, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, estimated at 2,253,437 in 2006. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River. Founded by Bartholomew Columbus in 1496, it is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas, and was the first seat of Spanish colonial rule in the New World. Santo Domingo came to be known as the "Gateway to the Caribbean". In 1930, the city of Santo Domingo (excluding the Colonial Zone) was extensively damaged by tropical hurricane San Zenón. President Rafael Trujillo reconstructed the city and named it Ciudad Trujillo after himself. After his assassination in 1961, Ciudad Trujillo once again became Santo Domingo de Guzmán. Santo Domingo is within the boundaries of the Distrito Nacional (D.N.; "National District") and Santo Domingo Province surrounds it. ( source Wikipedia )
