The City of Artemisa is where the seat of government for the Municipio of Artemisa resides. Through this city crosses the Central Highway (called Carretera Central and runs east to west for most of Cuba) and now, not too far from the city, passes the Autopista (sort of Expressway that goes from Pinar del Rio to Santa Clara). On the Central Highway the city of Artemisa is 60.3 kilometers from the City of Havana and 115.3 kilometers from the City of Pinar del Rio. By secondary roads Artemisa also connects to the towns of Cayajabos and San Francisco, continuing to Cabañas; another road leads to Alquízar and links to highways in the Province of Havana; there is also a road to Majana. By train Artemisa is 74 kilometers from the City of Havana and 106 from the City of Pinar del Rio.

History of the City of Artemisa: Nearby, where the city is nowadays, existed some corrales (name applied back then to farms) since the 1500's. Eventually some homes were built next to the road from the City of Havana to the City of Pinar del Rio (that later became the Central Highway). During the first decade of the 1800's there were some homes in the location where the city was later established. During those years the settlement was called the Villa Roja (Red Village) due to the color of the soil in that area. About that time the entire zone, of what is the Municipio of Artemisa, developed at an accelerated rate as a result of the production of coffee implemented in that region.

The settlement of Artemisa was established in 1818. Thanks to the donation made by don Francisco de Arango y Peñalver a catholic church was built; although there was a chapel, or small church, there before. The church was inaugurated on December 22, 1825 and dedicated to San Marcos Evangelista, patron saint of the City of Artemisa.

In 1875 Artemisa had four schools. In 1891 it had three schools for boys, two for girls and two private schools.

By royal decree, on June 9, 1878, the Municipio of Artemisa was established, to which Artemisa was assigned as the seat of government. The first session of the new municipio took place on January 1, 1979. City Hall building was inaugurated on May 5, 1901.

Population of the City of Artemisa: Right after the city was established its population suffered a drastic decline. In good part it was caused by the crash of the coffee production in 1833. At the end of that century the municipio, and the entire province of Pinar del Rio, was seriously affected by the devastation of the Cuban War of Independence; the Spanish concentrations and the Cubans burning of towns placed great burden on the population as a whole.

In 2002 the City of Artemisa had an estimated population of 43,427 people.

Economy: As well as seat of government, this city was the main commercial center of the municipio. At the end of the 1950's there were banks, hotels, stores, pharmacies and other establishments to support the mainly agricultural community in the region, including the two sugar mills in the municipio.

Movie theaters in the City of Artemisa: “Artemisa” with 350 seats y “Suarez” with 1700 seats.

Note: On August 13, 2004 hurricane Charley did much damage to this city. It is possible that some of the pictures presented here, taken in 2003, are already part of history.