 View of Bolívar Square | |
  Position of Bolívar Square in Bogotá | |
| Native name | Plaza Bolívar (Spanish) |
|---|---|
| Former name(s) | Plaza Mayor (1539–1821) Plaza de la Constitución (1821–1846) |
| Namesake | Simón Bolívar |
| Area | 1.3903 ha (3.436 acres) |
| Location | La Candelaria,Bogotá Colombia |
| Coordinates | 4°35′53″N74°4′34″W / 4.59806°N 74.07611°W /4.59806; -74.07611 |
| North | Calle 11 |
| East | Carrera 7 |
| South | Calle 10 |
| West | Carrera 8 |
| Construction | |
| Construction start | 27 April 1539 (1539-04-27) |
| Inauguration | 20 July 1846 (1846-07-20) |
| Other | |
| Status | National monument (19 October 1995) |
TheBolívar Square (Spanish:Plaza de Bolívar orPlaza Bolívar) is the main square of theColombian capitalBogotá. The square, previously calledPlaza Mayor until 1821 andPlaza de la Constitución, is located in the heart of the historical area of the city and hosts a statue ofSimón Bolívar, sculpted in 1846 by the ItalianPietro 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 theMuisca Confederation. The first building on the square, a primitive cathedral, was constructed in 1539, a year after the foundation of the Colombian capital. During the Spanish colonial period, Bolívar Square was the stage for circus acts, public markets and bullfights. The square is surrounded by historical buildings; thePalace of Justice is located on the northern edge and theNational Capitol borders the square in the south. ThePrimary Cathedral of Bogotá, next to the Archiepiscopal Palace with the monumental door cast byFerdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry and theLiévano Palace, seat of themayor of Bogotá, are situated on the eastern and western side respectively.
Bolívar Square is a main tourist attraction inLa Candelaria of Bogotá and the site for various manifestations and protests.
Bolívar Square is bordered by the streets Calle 10 in the south and Calle 11 in the north and Carrera 7 and Carrera 8 in the east and west respectively. The area is approximately 13,903 square metres (149,650 sq ft).[1]
| Edge | Building | Function | Constructed | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North | Palace of Justice | Seat of theJudiciary of Colombia | 1998 |  |
| West | Liévano Palace | City Hall of Bogotá | 1902–1905 |  |
| South | National Capitol | Seat of theColombian Congress | 1846–1926 |  |
| East | Primary Cathedral of Bogotá | Seat of theArchbishop of Bogotá and Primate of Colombia | completed in 1823 |  |
The history of Bolívar Square goes back topre-Columbian times, when the area was inhabited by theMuisca. The indigenous Muisca, one of thefour grand civilisations in the Americas,[2] (together with the Inca, Aztec, Mayan, and Olmec civilizations) had an advanced knowledge of the solar and lunar cycles, represented in their complexlunisolarMuisca calendar. At various locations throughout theirMuisca Confederation, the people constructedtemples honouring their main deities;Sué, the Sun, and his consortChía, the Moon.
Studies published about theMuisca astronomy in 2011 and 2017 by Julio Bonilla Romero, revealed that the Sun seen from the northeastern corner of Bolívar Square, at the Junesolstice rises exactly aboveMonserrate and at the December solstice aboveGuadalupe Hill.[3] At theequinoxes of March and September, Sué rises from the valley between these two landmarks in theEastern Hills of the city.[4]
ConquistadorGonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, after defeating the lastzipa of the southern MuiscaTisquesusa in 1537, founded the city of Bogotá on 6 August 1538. Two other main expeditions reached the newly founded capital of theNew Kingdom of Granada in 1539; led byNikolaus Federmann from the east andSebastián de Belalcázar from the south. TheSpanish conquistadors established the first cathedral of the city on the northeastern corner of thePlaza Mayor.[5]
From the city's founding, the square was the site of apillory, "La Picota," where public punishments were conducted for nearly a half-century. It was replaced by a public water source in 1583.[6]
During the early colonial period, thePlaza Mayor was a market square, wherecircus acts, civil, religious and cultural events, and until 1681bullfights were held. In the same year, a fountain was built on the square.[1] The first buildings were the primitive cathedral on the eastern side, followed by a three-story building constructed in 1545, two-story buildings on the northern and western edges for the principal merchants of the city in 1570, and between 1578 and 1582 theReal Audiencia building in the southwestern corner was built. In the southeastern corner of the square, theMayor School of San Bartolomé, a secondary school institution, originally a university, was established by theJesuits in 1604. TheHoly Chapel was built at the end of the 17th century and theViceroyalty Palace on the southeastern corner started construction in 1719 and was inaugurated in 1724.[5] The Palace was completely burned down in 1776.[1]
The present-day Primary Cathedral on the eastern side dates from the early 19th century; construction was started in 1807 byDomingo de Petres and finished in 1823.[1]
In theVase House on the northeastern corner, now also known as the Museum of the 20th July, occurred theCall for Independence on 20 July 1810, the first independence attempt from theSpanish rule inColombia.Camilo Torres Tenorio was executed on the square in 1816. The Bolívar Square was calledPlaza de la Constitución (Constitution Square) from 1821 onwards, until the placement of the statue honouringSimon Bolívar in 1846.[7] TheNational Capitol on the southern side, the seat of theColombian Congress, was initiated in 1846 but due to the political instability of the country it was not finished until 1926.[8] The French-style building located on the western side of the square known as theLiévano Palace, was constructed between 1902 and 1905. As of 1974 it is the seat for theMayor of Bogotá.[9]
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ThePalace of Justice, a largeinternational style building where theSupreme Court is housed, was first built in 1921 but was destroyed by a fire during theBogotazo after the murder ofJorge Eliécer Gaitán in April 1948. A new palace was built on the north side of the Bolívar Square, but was destroyed again in November 1985 during the "Palace of Justice Siege", by both the guerrilla movementM-19 and theColombian Army. The ruins of the building were kept untouched until 1989, when the government decided to construct a third (and current) building on the location, of which construction started in 1998.[10]
Bolívar Square was proposed as a national monument on 26 October 1994 and received that status on 19 October 1995.[11]
Bolívar Square has a long history as site for various protests. In July 1947, more than 100,000 people protested during the night.[12] During a protest in 2016, students camped on the square.[13]
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Source:Wills, Fernando; et al. (2001).Nuestro patrimonio – 100 tesoros de Colombia [Our heritage – 100 treasures of Colombia] (in Spanish).El Tiempo. pp. 1–311.ISBN 958-8089-16-6. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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