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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2007) |
"Bogota" redirects here. For other uses, see Bogotá (disambiguation).
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| Motto: Bogotá, 2600 metros más cerca de las estrellas Bogotá, 2600 meters closer to the stars |
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| Country | Colombia | ||
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| Department | Bogotá, D.C.* | ||
| Foundation | August 6, 1538 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Samuel Moreno Rojas, PDA | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 1,587 km² (612.7 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 1,731.9 km² (668.7 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 2,640 m (8,661 ft) | ||
| Population (2007 census estimate) [1] | |||
| - City | 7,033,914Ranked 1 | ||
| - Density | 3,914/km² (10,137.1/sq mi) | ||
| - Metro | 8,244,480 | ||
| *Bogotá is physically within and is the capital of Cundinamarca Department, but as the Capital District is treated as its own department. | |||
| Website: City Official Site Mayor Official Site Bogotá Tourism | |||
Bogotá—officially named Bogotá, D.C. (D.C. for "Distrito Capital", which means "Capital District"), formerly called Santa Fe de Bogotá, is the capital city of Colombia, as well as the largest and most populous city in the country, with 7,033,914 inhabitants (2007). Bogotá and its metropolitan area, which includes municipalities such as Chía, Cota, Soacha, Cajicá and La Calera, had an estimated population of 8,244,980 DANE, Censo General 2005 Resultados Area Metropolitana de Bogotá as of 2007. Bogotá\'s altitude makes it the third-highest major city in the world after La Paz and Quito.
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Bogotá at night
Bogotá was originally called "Bacatá" (which means “planted fields”) by the Muiscas.Arias, S.; Meléndez, M. (2002). "Sacred and Imperial Topographies in Juan de Castellanos\'s Elegías de varones ilustres de Indias", Mapping Colonial Spanish America: Places and Commonplaces of Identity, Culture and Experience. Bucknell University Press. ISBN 0838755097. It was the center of their civilization before the Spanish explorers colonized the area, and it sustained a large population. The European settlement was founded in August 6, 1538 by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada and was named "Santa Fé de Bacatá" after his birthplace Santa Fé and the local name. "Bacatá" had become the modern "Bogotá" by the time it was made the capital of the New Kingdom of Granada, which was then part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, and later of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. The city soon became one of the centers of Spanish colonial power and civilization in South America.
In 1810-11 its citizens revolted against Spanish rule and set up a government of their own, but had to contend with internal divisions and the temporary return to power of Spanish military loyalists who retook the city in 1816. In 1819 Simón Bolívar recaptured it after his victory at Boyacá. Bogotá was then made the capital of Gran Colombia, a federation combining the territories of modern Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. When Gran Colombia was broken up, Bogotá remained the capital of New Granada, which later became the Republic of Colombia. See History of Colombia.
In 1956 the municipality was joined to other neighboring municipalities forming a "Special District" (Spanish: Distrito Especial). The Constitution of 1991 confirmed Bogotá as the Capital of Colombia, gave it the name "Santa Fe de Bogotá", and changed the category from Special District to "Capital District" (Distrito Capital).
In August 2000 the name was officially changed back to simply "Bogotá". The local government consists of a Capital District. Samuel Moreno Rojas was elected Mayor of Bogotá for the period 2008-2011.
The flag originates from the insurgency movement against the colonial authorities which began on July 20, 1810, during which the rebels wore armbands with yellow and red bands, as these colours were those of the Spanish flag used as the flag for the New Kingdom of Granada.
In October 9, 1952, exactly 142 years after these events, decree 555 of 1952 officially adopted the patriotic armband as the flag of Bogotá. The flag of Cundinamarca follows the same pattern, plus a light blue tile which represents the Virgin Mary\'s cape.
The flag itself is a yellow band above a red one. The yellow denotes the gold from the earth, as well as the virtues of justice, clemency, benevolence, the so-called "mundane qualities" (defined as nobility, excellence, richness, generosity, splendour, health, steadfastness, joy and prosperity), long life, eternity, power and constancy. The red denotes the virtue of charity, as well as the qualities of bravery, nobility, values, audacity, victory, honour and furor, Colombians call it the blood of their people[citation needed].
Downtown Bogotá, the National Capitol Building houses the Colombian Congress.
The coat of arms of the city was granted by emperor Charles V (Charles I of Spain) to the New Kingdom of Granada, by royal decree given in Valladolid, Spain on December 3, 1548. It contains a black eagle in the center, which symbolises steadfastness. The eagle is also a symbol of the Habsburgs, which was the ruling family of the Spanish empire at the time. The eagle is crowned with gold and holds a red pomegranate inside a golden background. The border contains olive branches with nine golden pomegranates in a blue background. The two red pomegranates symbolize audacity, and the nine golden ones represent the nine states which constituted the New Kingdom of Granada at the time.
In 1932 the coat of arms was officially recognized and adopted as the symbol of Bogotá.
The words to the anthem of Bogotá were written by Pedro Medina Avendaño to music by Roberto Pineda Duque. The song was officially declared the anthem by decree 1000 of July 31, 1974, by then Mayor of Bogotá, Aníbal Fernandez de Soto.
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Bogotá is located in the centre of the country, on the east of the Savannah of Bogotá (Sabana de Bogotá), 2640 meters (8661 feet) above sea level. Although "sabana", as it is popularly called, is literally "savannah", the geographical site is actually a high plateau in the Andes mountains. The extended region is also known as "Altiplano Cundiboyacense" which literally means "high plateau of Cundinamarca and Boyaca"
The Bogotá River crosses the \'sabana\' forming Tequendama Falls to the south. Tributary rivers form valleys with flourishing villages, whose economy is based on agriculture, livestock raising and artisanal production.
Downtown from Salitre Magico Park
The \'sabana\' is bordered to the east by the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes mountain range. Surrounding hills, which limit city growth, run from south to north, parallel to the Guadalupe and Monserrate mountains. The western city limit is the Bogotá River. The Sumapaz paramo (moorland) borders the south and to the north Bogotá extends over the mentioned plateau up to the towns of Chía and Sopó.
The average temperature on the \'sabana\' is 14.0°C (57°F), varying from -8°C (18°F) to 28°C (82°F). Dry and rainy seasons alternate throughout the year. The driest months are December, January, February and March; the rainiest are April, May, September, October and November. June and July are usually rainy periods and August is sunny with high winds.
Hailstorm in Bogotá 03-03-06
Frost usually occurs in dry season. During this period, the temperature falls below -4°C (24F)at night and ascend to 25C (77 F) in the day. The lowest temperature ever recorded was -8°C (17°F) inside the city and -10°C (14°F) in the nearby towns of the savanna. The highest temperarure ever recorded was 28C (78°F).
Climatic conditions are irregular and quite variable due to the El Niño and La Niña climatic phenomena, which occur in and around the Pacific basin and are responsible for very pronounced climatic changes.
| Climate chart for Bogotá | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
29.0 16 6 |
44.0 17 7 |
66.0 17 8 |
101 16 9 |
93 16 9 |
54 16 8 |
43 15 8 |
46 15 7 |
72 16 7 |
107 16 8 |
91 16 8 |
53 16 6 |
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| temperatures in °C • precipitation totals in mm source: World Weather Information Service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Imperial conversion
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The urban layout dates back to Colonial times, and is a square layout adopted from Spain. The current street layout has calles which run perpendicular to the hills heading east-west with numbering increasing towards the north, and towards the south from calle 1, and carreras which run parallel to the hills in the south-north direction with numbering increasing east and west from carrera 1. New urban sectors incorporate diagonal – similar to streets – and transversal – similar to carreras. Streets are numbered.
It has over one thousand neighborhoods or divisions forming the developed urban network. Neighborhoods of higher economic status are primarily located to the north and north-east. Poorer neighborhoods are located to the south and south-east, many of them squatter areas. The middle classes usually inhabit the central, western and north-western sections of the city.
The largest and most populous city in Colombia, Bogotá has 7,881,156 inhabitants in its metropolitan area (2005 census).
As with Colombia as a whole, the vast bulk of the city\'s population consists of mestizos (those of mixed Amerindian and white European descent) and those of white European descent. However, there is a lesser number of residents of African descent than in the country as whole given the city\'s distance from coastal areas such as Cartagena, where the descendants of African slaves have traditionally resided.
In the 1990s, Bogotá was considered one of the most dangerous cities in the world. At one point it had a homicide rate of 80 per 100,000 people. Since then, however, Bogotá has gone to great lengths to change its crime rate and its image. The change was the result of a participatory and integrated security policy that was first adopted in 1995. Because of its success, this security policy has continued to be implemented ever since. In 2005, Bogotá had a murder rate of 23 persons per 100,000 inhabitants, a 71% drop from what it had 10 years ago. Interestingly, by the way of comparison, the city today has a lower murder rate than Washington, D.C., Caracas, São Paulo, Mexico City, Panama City, Detroit, Chicago and Rio de Janeiro. The situation in Bogotá seems to be greatly improved in terms of security and public safety from five years ago, and the atmosphere is much more relaxed", said Marshall Louis, a spokesman for the United States Embassy.travel nytimes 2005 Washington, DC Murder Rate Infoplease.comProfiling Bogotá\'s Security Plan, Comunidad Segura.
City Hall
Bogotá is the capital of the Republic of Colombia, and houses the national legislature, the Supreme Court of Justice, and the center of the executive administration as well as the residence of the President of the Republic. The Principal Mayor and District Council – both elected by popular vote – are responsible for city administration.
The city divided into 20 localities: Usaquén, Chapinero, Santa Fe, San Cristóbal, Usme, Tunjuelito, Bosa, Kennedy, Fontibón, Engativá, Suba, Barrios Unidos, Teusaquillo, Los Mártires, Antonio Nariño, Puente Aranda, La Candelaria, Rafael Uribe Uribe, Ciudad Bolívar, Sumapáz.
Each of the 20 localities is governed by an administrative board elected by popular vote, made up of no less than seven members, as determined by the District Council. The Principal Mayor designates local mayors from a trio proposed by the respective administrative board.
Bogotá is Colombia\'s largest economic center, followed by Medellín, Cali, and Barranquilla. Most companies in Colombia have their headquarters in Bogotá (for example, Bavaria, Avianca, Postobon, Bancolombia and Coltejer), and it is home to most foreign companies doing businesses in Colombia and neighbouring countries as well as Colombia\'s main stock market. Bogotá is a major center for import and export of goods for Colombia and the Andean Community in Latin America.
Bogotá is the center of Colombian business. It has a busy banking, insurance sector, and a Stock exchange. Engineering firms provide services for many regions of Colombia and Central America. Bogotá houses the central governmental institutions and military headquarters. It is the centre of the telecommunications network and has the biggest industrial facilities in the country.
Some services are public and others are private. The public services include energy, sewer and phones. Energy and sewer bills are stratified based on the location of owner\'s residence. Thus, the wealthier sections of society help subsidize the energy bills of the poorer sections of society. Telephone service is provided by both "Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Bogotá" (ETB), a city-owned company, and "Capitel", owned by Colombia Telecomunicaciones and "EPM Bogotá", owned in turn by the Medellín public services company (Empresas Públicas de Medellín - EPM) . Coin or card-operated payphones are also available, along with cell phone providers. There are (as of May 2007) three main operators of wireless phones: Movistar (owned by Spanish firm Telefónica), Comcel (owned by Telmex) and Tigo (co-owned by ETB, EPM and Millicom).
Bogotá also receives money from exports like beautiful flowers and emeralds. In downtown Bogotá, millions of dollars in domestically produced rough and cut emeralds are bought and sold daily. Other important industries include financial services, especially banking. Bogotá is headquarters to major commercial banks, and to the Banco de la República, Colombia\'s central bank. Bogotá is also a printing and publishing centre. The city is a major convention destination with many major convention centres: Centro Ferial de Convenciones Corferias, Centro de Convenciones y Eventos Cafam, Centro de Convenciones Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, among others. Because of its status as site of the country\'s capital, it is home to a number of government agencies, which represent another major component of the city\'s economy.
The city\'s industrial base include staples of the Colombian economy such as GM Colmotores, Compañía Colombiana Automotriz, and Ecopetrol.
Bogotá has a modern transportation system. It includes an international airport, bus lines, taxis, the TransMilenio rapid transit system, and a train that serves as transportation for the outskirts of the city.
Buses are the main means of mass transportation. There are two bus systems: the traditional system and the trasmilenio. The traditional system runs a variety of bus types, operated by several companies on normal streets and avenues:
The buses are divided into two categories: "ejecutivo", which is supposed to be a deluxe service and is not supposed to carry standing passengers, and "corriente" or normal service. Bus fares range, as of March 2006, from COP 900 to 1250 (US$ .40 aprox.)
Yellow taxis are everywhere in Bogotá. They are required to use meters (remind the driver immediately if you do not see a meter ticking; if he refuses, get out, don\'t pay and don\'t look back); check the placard attached to the passenger seat to confirm your fare when done. Add COP2,900 for trips to the airport, 1,400 from 8pm-6am, and 2,000 if you made a phone call to dispatch the taxi. Tips are not customary for Colombian taxi drivers, but a small tip is appreciated for good service. It is advisable to always call for a taxi at night, and for isolated spots. It is best to carry plenty of small bills to make exact change, as Bogotá taxi drivers frequently do not carry much change. If you have trouble, memorize the six digit license plate (and preferably the driver\'s name on the fare placard), so you can report him to the taxi company or to the police.
White taxis are used mostly as shuttles by hotels, or by companies to transport customers and personnel. Hotel taxis are generally regarded as quite safe, so their fares are higher than in regular yellow taxis. They do not use meters, so negotiate the price beforehand.
El Dorado International Airport
Bogotá\'s principal airport is El Dorado International Airport, west of the city\'s downtown, at the end of Av. el Dorado. Several domestic airlines (Avianca, AeroRepública, AIRES and SATENA), and international airlines (including Iberia, American Airlines, Varig, Copa, Continental, Delta, Air France, Air Canada, Aerogal, TAME, TACA) operate from El Dorado. Note that there is a separate terminal, the Puente Aéreo, for Avianca\'s domestic flights. El Dorado is one of the largest and most expansive airports in Latin America. Due to its central location in Colombia and in Latin America, it is a natural hub for domestic and international airlines.
There are official counters for set taxi fares from El Dorado, to the right as you leave international arrivals, and to the left as you leave domestic arrivals. Buses and colectivos are straight ahead as you leave the airport, about 50m from the terminal building.
El Dorado is heavily congested, as it handles more passengers than its optimal capacity. Work on a major expansion of El Dorado airport started in September 2007. When completed, this will expand capacity from the current 8 million passengers a year to 16 million.
A secondary airport, Catam, serves as a base for Military and Police Aviation, also Guaymaral Airport, for private aviation activities.
Bogotá is a hub for domestic and international bus routes. The Bogotá terminal serves routes to most cities and towns in Colombia Bogotá Transportation Terminal & Train Station Bogotá-dc.com and is the largest in the country. There is international service to Ecuador and Venezuela.
TransMilenio is a bus rapid transit network combining modern articulated buses that operate on dedicated bus roads (busways) and smaller buses (feeders) that operate in residential areas, bringing passengers to the main grid. TransMilenio\'s main routes are: Caracas Avenue, 80th Street, Avenue of the Americas, Northern Highway (Autopista Norte), Jiménez Avenue, and 30th Avenue (also referred to as Norte Quito Sur or N.Q.S. for short). The Suba Avenue routes and the southern leg of the 30th Avenue route were opened in April 2006. The third phase of the system will cover 7th Avenue, 10th Avenue, and 26th Street (or Avenida El Dorado). The system is expected to cover the entire city by 2030.
Although the Transmilenio rapid bus service is considered efficient and carries commuters to numerous corners of the city, it more expensive than any public transport except taxis, and fares increase with petroleum fuel prices. As of December 2007 the price of a ticket was 1400 COP. Transmilenio does not yet cover some main routes, and buses are overcrowded.
TransMilenio has an interactive guide www.surumbo.com to offer the most efficient ways to use the buses, with maps and information on routes, stations and nearby places.
TransMilenio station
Bogotá\'s network of bike paths, called ciclorutas, is one of the most extensive dedicated bike path networks of any city in the world, with a total extension of 303 km. It extends from the north of the city, 170th Street, to the south, 27th Street, and from Monserrate on the east to the Bogotá River on the west. The cicloruta was started by the 1995–1998 Antanas Mockus administration, and considerably extended during the administration of Mayor Enrique Peñalosa. Since the construction of the ciclorutas bicycle use in the city has increased 5-fold: it is estimated that 300,000 - 400,000 bicycle trips are made every day, largely in southern, poorer, areas.
On weekends a sightseeing train, popular with Bogotá residents, runs to outlying towns Zipaquirá and Nemocón. The route to Zipaquira (famous for its salt cathedral) is 53 km long. Another line goes towards the north for 47 km and ends at Briceño.
Bogotá has a scholarly tradition that dates back to 1580 when the first university was founded by the religious Order of Santo Domingo. The oldest university of Bogotá is Universidad Santo Tomás opened on July 13, 1580. The second oldest is Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, founded on July 9, 1623 by the Jesuits. In December 31, 1651 the still-extant School of Our Lady of Rosary was founded by Fray Cristóbal de Torres.
The largest university of Colombia, the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, was created in September 22, 1867. A study by Universia found it to be the Colombian university producing the largest number of scientific papers published in peer-refereed publications in 2005, and the 142nd most prolific in Latin America.Ranking-Instituciones-Investigacion-Colombia (Spanish). universia.net. Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
In 1886, the Externado of Colombia University was founded.
Founded in 1948 and now with more than 14,000 students, the private Universidad de los Andes is considered one of the major universities in Colombia.
Bogotá has more schools, colleges, and universities than any other city in Colombia.
There are many parks, many with facilities for concerts, plays, movies, storytellers and other activities.
Simón Bolívar Metropolitan Park.
Santamaría Bullring and a planetarium.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Madrid, Spain
Mexico City, Mexico
Miami, Florida
Seoul, South Korea
Ottawa, Canada
Lima, Peru
Bogota Eje ambiental.JPG
View of downtown Bogotá from nearby Monserrate |
An Eastern view of Bogotá\'s International Business District with Monserrate looming above |
TransMilenio2004-7-10.jpg
TransMilenio\'s 19th Street Station |
Station at Jiménez Avenue and Carrera 7 |
TransMilenio Station at Mandalay, Américas Avenue |
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North CB.JPG
Overview of Bavaria Central Park |
Santafe.jpg
Santamaría Bullring with Park Towers behind |
Bogota-christmas-2005.jpg
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Colpatria Tower at night |
Negret Sculpture at National Museum |
Mural Colombiano congreso Bogota.jpg
Mural at the elliptic room of the National Congress. |
Iglesia SFB.JPG
Saint Francis of Assisi Church |
Bogota1.jpg
Panoramic view of downtown Bogotá from nearby Monserrate |
Monserrate 03.jpg
Monserrate Church |
Candelaria Church 01.jpg
Candelaria Church |
BOG187.JPG
Downtown Bogotá |
View of the Maloka Museum dome theater from the museum |
The Maloka Museum from the sidewalk |
View of the Maloka dome theater |
Maloka Dome theater facade |
Maloka Dome theater facade |
Plaza de Toros de Bogotá.JPG
Up: Santamaría Bullring Down: Distrital Planetarium |
The painted ceiling and Murano chandelier of the Teatro Colon |
Private balcony view of the Teatro Colon |
Basilica of Our Lady of Carmen |
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