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Zipaquirá | |
|---|---|
Municipality and city | |
 Central square of Zipaquirá | |
 Flag | |
 Location of the town and municipality of Zipaquirá in Cundinamarca | |
  Zipaquirá Location in Colombia | |
| Coordinates:5°02′00″N74°00′00″W / 5.03333°N 74.00000°W /5.03333; -74.00000 | |
| Country |  Colombia |
| Departamento | Cundinamarca |
| Province | Central Savanna Province |
| Founded | 18 July 1600 |
| Founded by | Luis Henríquez |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Fabián Rojas(2024-2027) |
| Area | |
• Municipality and city | 194.8 km2 (75.2 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 10.25 km2 (3.96 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 2,650 m (8,690 ft) |
| Population (2018 census)[1] | |
• Municipality and city | 130,537 |
| • Density | 670.1/km2 (1,736/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 106,461 |
| • Urban density | 10,390/km2 (26,900/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Zipaquireño/a |
| Time zone | UTC-5 |
| Area code | +1 |
| Website | Official website |
| Censo DANE 2005 | |
Zipaquirá (Spanish pronunciation:[sipakiˈɾa]) is a municipality and city ofColombia in the department ofCundinamarca. Its neighboring municipalities areCogua andNemocón to the north;Tabio,Cajicá andSopó to the south,Tocancipá andGachancipá to the east andPacho andSubachoque to the west.
Its seat of municipal government is 49 kilometers from the national capitalBogotá. It is part of the Greater Bogotá Metropolitan Area, and is the capital of the Sabana Centro province. It is also the headquarters of thediocese of the same name and that includes much of the Department of Cundinamarca, extending to the centre of Bogotá, the region of Rionegro, the Ubaté Valley, and the region of Guavio.
The city is primarily known for itsSalt Cathedral, an underground church built inside asalt mine in a tunnel made as result of the excavation of thesalinas. Zipaquirá has an original architecture, and the old city centre is atourist attraction. Its main square is surrounded by old buildings in theSpanish Colonial style. This small city can be reached by train from Bogotá.
InChibcha, the language of theMuisca, who inhabited theAltiplano Cundiboyacense before theSpanish conquest, the name means "The Land of thezipa".Zipa was the ruler of this territory. Another origin is "City of our father".[2]
In theAbra Valley between Zipaquirá andTocancipá were found some of the most ancient human remains of South America. Thelithicstrata reveal animal bones and carbon fragments, analysed withcarbon 14 dating to be around 12,500 years old, which makes it the oldest evidence of human settlement on theAltiplano Cundiboyacense.
There are two possible origins of its name. One of them is taken from the indigenous people who inhabited the foot of the Zippa mountain range, "Chicaquicha", which means "our large wall" or according to other sources, "city of our father", and until the 19th century the name was written beginning with the letter C. The other possibility refers to the name "zipa", a title conferred to the governor of the village and to his wife, the latter known by the title of "Quira", and thus "Zipa-Quirá". The native people who lived there settled in the upper part of the mine called "Puebla Viejo", now known as Santiago Pérez, approximately 200 meters above the present site of the city, and where early Spanish descriptions (1537) speak of "seeing a few hundred dwellings with a population of 12,000 people".
These lands were part of the domain of thezipa ofBacatá, the leader of the southern part of the Muisca. This area of the Bogotá plain had at that time a series of small lakes and canyons which made possible the transportation of its inhabitants by canoe, by means of which the inhabitants ofNemocón,Gachancipá, andTocancipá reached Chicaquicha in order to seek supplies of salt which they traded for pottery and tiles. Salt was also traded with peoples throughout theAndean region of Colombia, including thePanche, andPantágora in the present department ofTolima, and theMuzo of the present-day department ofBoyacá.
On July 18, 1600,Donoidor Luis Henríquez established a settlement on the site with workers and their families, and named it the "Village of Zipaquirá".
On August 2, 1600, Henríquez contracted Juan de Robles to construct the Church of Zipaquirá, which was later reconstructed by Pedro de Tovar y Buendía, when the parish priest was Fernando de Buenaventura y Castillo.
In 1605 the area was named theCorregimiento de Zipaquirá and removed to its original location; this was done due to the limited area available on the originally occupied plain, as well as to the fact that the Spanish forces ordered that no Spanish,negros,mestizos ormulattos were permitted to live in native villages, even if they had purchased land therein.
In 1623, the Spanish official Don Francisco de Sosa named aswards the 321 native inhabitants in the "Old Town", according to the declaration of Alfredo Tinoco.
On October 5, 1638, Gabriel de Carvajal became the guardian of 771 natives in the region and 125 inTibitó.
In 1778, by order of theViceroyManuel Antonio Flórez, the natives who lived in Zipaquirá were transported toNemocón in order to prevent constant rebellions of previous owners of the salt deposits.
On August 3, 1779, Zipaquirá saw the creation of the Holy Trinity and San Antonio de Paduaparish.
In 1852, Zipaquirábecame a province, retaining the status until 1855.
During theSpanish reconquest, on August 3, 1816, the so-called Zipaquirá Martyrs wereexecuted in the city square.
With the Constitution of Cundinamarca of 1815, the city became the capital of the province of the same name. On July 10, 1863, it was designated the capital of the Sovereign State of Cundinamarca, although subsequently it was named Funza by decree of president Morales. Law number 46 of April 29, 1905, created the Department of Quesada, the capital of which was Zipaquirá, which remained so until 1910.
Zipaquirá is located 48 kilometres (30 mi) north ofBogotá, linked by road and by train. The most famous of its salt mines has been exploited since pre-Columbian times by theMuisca, in which is located the famousSalt Cathedral. González Forero Square is the center of the city, surrounded by buildings that have conserved their colonial style and are considered to be national monuments. The square contains a cathedral constructed between 1760 and 1870, with its stone façade, as well as the city hall and theSalinas administration building, with their green republican-style roofs.
The city has undergone recent changes, having transformed streets in the center topedestrian walkways, limiting vehicle traffic in the area in an attempt at preservation and conservation, and lending a more cordial aspect for tourists. As part of this strategy, the city has also carried out a project of restructuring the Sabana Station (railroad), and, next to it, the construction of Parque La Esperanza.
Currently, the Bogotá - Chía - Cajicá - Zipaquirá highway is completed, making possible more rapid and safer access to the city, since the Cajicá - Zipaquirá segment was one of the most accident-prone roads in the country.
Zipaquirá offers the visitor typical restaurants, colonial houses that are almost 300 years old, tourist agencies, recreation centers such as Panaca Sabana, museums, crafts, and an interesting retail infrastructure.
Agriculture is also important in the municipality, especiallydairy andpotato farming. Industry in the region is closely associated with the production, processing, and refining ofsalt. The estimated population is 130,000 inhabitants (called "Zipaquireños").
The streets, the park, the houses, and the square commemorate the era of the colony. As well as the communal movement and the indigenous struggles that gave way to a new chapter in the history of the country. Today through tourist guides and locals the indigenous origins of the municipality, which in the indigenous language is called Chicaquicha, is visited by a large number of tourists from around the world.
Among the most famous events of the area are the majesticHoly Week processions, organized for the last 54 years by theNazarene of Zipaquirá Congregation, with processions throughout the week with beautiful Spanish religious relics that attract both local residents and visitors. Tourists actively participate duringGood Friday when the procession of the Path of the Cross journeys up to the Plazoleta del Minero to the entrance of the Salt Cathedral.
| Climate data for Zipaquirá/Nemocón (Checua-Nemocon), elevation 2,580 m (8,460 ft), (1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 20.6 (69.1) | 20.2 (68.4) | 20.8 (69.4) | 19.7 (67.5) | 18.9 (66.0) | 17.9 (64.2) | 17.9 (64.2) | 18.5 (65.3) | 19.2 (66.6) | 19.9 (67.8) | 20.4 (68.7) | 20.5 (68.9) | 19.5 (67.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 13.8 (56.8) | 14.0 (57.2) | 14.4 (57.9) | 14.4 (57.9) | 14.2 (57.6) | 13.6 (56.5) | 13.6 (56.5) | 13.6 (56.5) | 13.9 (57.0) | 14.1 (57.4) | 14.6 (58.3) | 14.1 (57.4) | 14.0 (57.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 7.1 (44.8) | 8.1 (46.6) | 8.7 (47.7) | 10.1 (50.2) | 10.5 (50.9) | 9.8 (49.6) | 10.0 (50.0) | 9.5 (49.1) | 9.1 (48.4) | 9.5 (49.1) | 9.8 (49.6) | 8.0 (46.4) | 9.1 (48.4) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 23.7 (0.93) | 53.0 (2.09) | 69.8 (2.75) | 78.9 (3.11) | 67.3 (2.65) | 34.6 (1.36) | 37.0 (1.46) | 37.5 (1.48) | 59.1 (2.33) | 74.8 (2.94) | 61.0 (2.40) | 31.5 (1.24) | 628.1 (24.73) |
| Average precipitation days | 4 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 125 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 73 | 73 | 74 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 80 | 79 | 77 | 79 | 79 | 76 | 78 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 195.3 | 144.0 | 158.1 | 123.0 | 127.1 | 99.0 | 139.5 | 124.0 | 141.0 | 136.4 | 135.0 | 167.4 | 1,689.8 |
| Mean dailysunshine hours | 6.3 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 5.4 | 4.6 |
| Source:Instituto de Hidrologia Meteorologia y Estudios Ambientales[3] | |||||||||||||
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