Interesting facts about Bogotá

bogotá

Bogotá is the capital and largest city of Colombia.

The city is located in the center of the country in the eastern part of the Andes mountains.

As of June 2019, the population of Bogotá is about 8 million people.

Bogotá covers a total area of 1,587 square kilometers (613 square miles).

The city lies at an average altitude of 2,640 meters (8,660 feet) above sea level. It is the third-highest capital in South America and in the world after Quito and La Paz.

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The city was founded by the Muisca people long before the arrival of the Spanish, who established their own city there.

The Muisca people called the settlement where Bogotá was founded Bacatá, which in the Chibcha language means “The Lady of the Andes.”

With the arrival of the Spanish colonizers the area was developed into a major settlement that was founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada in 1538, and became capital of the Spanish Empire provinces and the seat of the Viceroyalty of New Granada.

With independence in 1819, Bogotá became the capital of the Gran Colombia, and -subsequently- of the Republic of Colombia.

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Bogotá occupies a sloping plain at the base of two mountains, Guadalupe and Monserrate, upon whose crests stand two imposing churches.

The city is laid out in a grid pattern and has a number of plazas, or squares, including the Plaza Bolívar, along which face the principal public buildings and churches. Modern apartment towers stand alongside buildings dating from the colonial period.

The Plaza Bolívar is located in the heart of the historical area of the city and hosts a statue of Simón Bolívar, sculpted in 1846 by the Italian Pietro Tenerani, which was the first public monument in the city. The history of Bolívar Square dates back to the pre-Columbian era, when the site was part of the Muisca Confederation. The first building on the square, a primitive cathedral, was constructed in 1539, a year after the foundation of the Colombian capital.

plaza bolívar

The Archbishopric Cathedral of Bogotá is a Roman Catholic cathedral located at the eastern side of Bolívar Square in Bogotá. The Cathedral was built between 1807 and 1823.

Archbishopric Cathedral of Bogotá

Monserrate is a hill that dominates the city center of Bogotá. It rises to 3,152 meters (10,341 ft) above the sea level, where there is a church (built in the 17th century) with a shrine, devoted to El Señor Caído (“The Fallen Lord”). The hill, already considered sacred in pre-Columbian times when the area was inhabited by the indigenous Muisca, is a pilgrim destination, as well as a major tourist attraction.

monserrate

The Museum of Gold is one of the most visited touristic highlights in the country. The museum receives around 500,000 tourists per year. The museum displays a selection of pre-Columbian gold and other metal alloys, such as Tumbaga, and contains the largest collection of gold artifacts in the world in its exhibition rooms on the second and third floors. Together with pottery, stone, shell, wood and textile objects, these items, made of a– to indigenous cultures – sacred metal, testify to the life and thought of the different societies which lived in present-day Colombia before the Spanish conquest of the Americas.

museum of gold

The National Museum of Colombia is the biggest and oldest museum in Colombia. The museum housing collections on its history, art and culture. It houses a collection of over 20,000 pieces. The National Museum was built in 1823. Its fortress architecture is built in stone and brick.

national museum of colombia

The Botero Museum also known as Museo Botero houses one of Latin America’s most important international art collections. There are over 3,000 pieces of art dating from the 16th century all the way to today. It sees 500,000 visitors annually, around 1,000 daily, and of those 2,000 students per month.

botero museum

The José Celestino Mutis botanical garden is Colombia’s biggest botanical garden. It serves both as a recreation and research center with an emphasis on Andean and Páramo ecosystems. The garden is located in Bogotá and features plants from every Colombian altitude, climate and region. It was founded in 1955, in honor of botanist and astronomer Jose Celestino Mutis.

josé celestino mutis botanical garden

The Simón Bolívar Park, is a greenspace and entertainment and sports complex located in the middle of the city of Bogotá. The park is named after the Latin American Liberator Simón Bolívar. It is one of the most popular urban parks in the city of Bogotá. The park features a lake in which people can rent paddle boats and a large space for concerts and events capable of holding 140.000 people.

simón bolívar park

Bogotá has many cultural venues including 58 museums, 62 art galleries, 33 library networks, 45 stage theaters, 75 sports and attraction parks, and over 150 national monuments.

The city has a subtropical highland climate. The average temperature is 14.5 °C (58 °F), varying from 6 to 19 °C (43 to 66 °F) on sunny days to 10 to 18 °C (50 to 64 °F) on rainy days.

In the extreme south of Bogota’s District, the world’s largest continuous paramo ecosystem can be found; Sumapaz Páramo in the locality Sumapaz.

Known as the Athens of South America, Bogotá has an extensive educational system of both primary and secondary schools and colleges.

The city’s airport, El Dorado International Airport, named after the mythical El Dorado, handles the largest cargo volume in Latin America, and is third in number of people.