MANAGUA  , the

capital of Nicaragua, and of the department of Managua; on the southern shore of Lake Managua, and on the railway from Diriamba to El Viejo, 65 m. by rail S.E. of the Pacific port of Corinto . Pop . (19c5), about 30,000 . Managua is a modern city, with many flourishing industries and a rapidly growing population . Its chief buildings are those erected after 1855, when it was chosen as the capital to put an end to the rivalry between the then more important cities of Leon and Granada . They include the Palacio National or government buildings, Corinthian in style, the national library and museum, an ornate Renaissance structure, the barracks and the general post office . Owing to its position on the lake, and its excellent communications by rail and steamer, Managua obtained after 1855 an important export trade in coffee, sugar, cocoa and cotton, although in 1876 it was temporarily ruined by a great inundation .