Hagåtña, (also known as Agana), town in the United States unincorporated Territory of Guam, capital of the territory, on the western coast of Guam island, near Apra Harbor. Throughout the city are unusual statues, including a revolving likeness of Pope John Paul II, which looks down upon the Plaza de España and completes one rotation every 24 hours. A small replica of the Statue of Liberty is in the Paseo de Susana park, and there is also a statue of a mermaid in Hagåtña.
Founded by Spain in 1668, Hagåtña can lay claim to being the oldest “European” city in the Pacific. After the Japanese occupation of Guam in World War II (1939-1945), Hagåtña was all but destroyed during the Allied campaign to liberate the island in 1944. Reconstruction began in 1946 with appropriations from the U.S. government. A lone member of the Japanese forces, Corporal Shoichi Yokoi, stayed in hiding in the bamboo forests of Hagåtña until 1972—unaware that World War II had ended. Population 881 (1980); 2,000 (1990 estimate).
