Tunja

Tunja
—  City  —
Central Plaza of Tunja

Flag
Coat of arms
Location of the town and municipality of Tunja in Boyacá Department
Tunja is located in Colombia
Tunja
Location in Colombia
Coordinates:
Country  Colombia
Department Flag of Boyacá Department.svg Boyacá
Province Central Boyacá Province
Founded August 6, 1539
Established March 29, 1541
Government
 - Type Municipality
 - Mayor (Alcalde) Arturo Montejo
Area
 - City 118 km2 (45.6 sq mi)
 - Urban 13 km2 (5 sq mi)
Elevation 2,810 m (9,219 ft)
Population (2005)
 - City 152,419
 - Density 1,291.7/km2 (3,345.5/sq mi)
  [1]
Website tunja.gov.co

Tunja (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtuŋxa]) is a city and municipality located in the central part of Colombia, in the region of "Alto Chicomocha". As of the 2005 Census it had 152,419 inhabitants.[1] It is capital of the Department of Boyacá and part of the subregion of the Central Boyacá Province. It is approximately 115 km from Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, and takes about 2–3 hours to reach by car or bus. Tunja is known for being a center for education and is home to many Colegios (high schools) and Universidades (Universities). Founded in 1539 it is more than 450 years years old, and in addition holds archeological treasures that predate the colonial era.

Tunja is a tourist destination. In addition to its religious and historical sites it is host to several internationally known festivals and is a jumping off point for regional tourist destinations such as Villa de Leyva, Paipa, and Sierra Nevada del Cocuy. It is also a stop on the Pan American Highway which connects Tunja to Bogata and Santa Marta and eventually to Northern and Southern most parts of the Americas.

Contents

Demographics and Geography

Tunja has a population of approximately 160,000 inhabitants and is located in north central Colombia. It has an elevation of 2.820 meters above sea level.

History

This Colombian historical city was founded on August 6, 1539 by the Spanish captain, Gonzalo Suarez Rendon, in the domain of "El Zaque", one of the chiefs of the Muiscas tribe.

The city was also the capital of the short lived state of the United Provinces of New Granada from 1810 to 1816.

Tunja is now a university city; one out of every five inhabitants is a student.

Tourism

Plaza Bolivar
Plaza Bolivar

Relevant historical and touristic sites

Festivals

Churches

Shopping

Downtown

People have been shopping in downtown Tunja for over 450 years. There you can find gift shops, bakeries, bars, disco-techs, cafés, clothing stores, and much more.

Shopping Malls

Unicentro is an American style shopping center that features a Carrefour and a Cinemark Theatres.

Traditional Markets

Plaza de Marcado del Norte Plaza de Marcado del Sur

Famous people

Josefa del Castillo y Guevara Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Jose Joaquin Ortiz Rafael Humberto Moreno Durán Pedro Alvarez Espinosa Carlos Arturo Torres Guillermo Prieto La Rotta

Education

Tunja well as being important historically, is also notable for his great contribution to education in Colombia, despite being a small town considered a large part of its population are students between high school and university. Tunja has a large number of colleges, among these is the College of Boyaca, first public school in the territories of Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama and Colombia when these countries were part of Gran Colombia. It was founded on 20 October 1822 by the Vice President Francisco de Paula Santander. Among the most relevant schools are:

Universities

Tunja is the location of one of four national universities in the country, Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia was founded by General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla. Other universities are:

[5]

Sports

Overview of the Independence Stadium before the renovation. The city has two professional football teams. Boyaca Chico's playing in the Colombian Professional Football and Patriots of the Primera B. Both sets play their games at the Estadio La Independencia located north of the city. The stadium has one of the best Olympic country towns, the facilities were remodeled for the Copa Libertadores 2009, expanding capacity to 20,630 spectators and meeting every specification FIFA.4 The city organized in 2008 the South American U-20 Futsal which'm champion Brazil. Colombia was the fourth since the tournament continental.5

Sister cities

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "resultados oficiales del censo 2005". D.A.N.E.. 
  2. ↑ "www.festivalinternacionaldelacultura.com". www.festivalinternacionaldelacultura.com. 
  3. ↑ "Semana Santa". www.tunja.gov. 
  4. ↑ "Aguinaldo Boyacense La Fiesta Grande de Boyacá para Colombia". www.tunja.gov. 
  5. ↑ "uptc". uptc. 

External links