The city in central Colombia, is the country's capital, located at an elevation of about 2,650 m. / 8,660 ft. on a mountain rimmed plateau high in the Cordillera Oriental of the Andes Mountains. This gives it constant spring like weather. It lies only 4°36' north of the equator.
Bogotá was founded on the 6th of August 1538 by the Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada who fough the Chibcha Indians near the site of the populous tribe center called Bacatá. The new city became the vice-regal capital of New Granada in 1717. It was captured by Simón Bolívar in 1819 and was the capital of the independent nation of Great Colombia (which included modern day Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela). It became the capital of New Granada (later renamed Colombia) in 1830 when Great Colombia was dissolved.
The city grew slowly because cachacos (People from Bogota) wished to preserve their old culture. They prided themselves on speaking the purest Spanish in the New World. The city expanded rapidly after 1940 as large numbers of rural Colombians migrated there in search of greater economic opportunities. It is sometimes called the Athens of South America. Bogotá is now Colombia's largest financial, political, and cultural center. The National University of Colombia and many other universities located there make Bogotá the nation's chief educational center.
Today Bogotá is a cosmopolitan city in continuous expansion. It is one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas, not only in Colombia, but also in South America. Its almost 6 million inhabitants include a multitude of immigrants from all over the world, which makes the capital a true microcosm of the nation. Modern highrises and skyscrapers contrast with old houses of colonial and republican architecture. Bogotá offers residents and visitors everything that a modem city can give. Cultural activities abound and its enormous selection of restaurants, bars and nightclubs offers all kinds of food and entertainment.
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