The Cerro de Monserrate

The Cerro de Monserrate was named in honor of the Virgen Morena de Monserrat whose
sanctuary is located in Barcelona, Spain. It is one of the most emblematic icons of Bogotá and
perhaps one of the most visited places by tourists and residents.

It is considered a traditional place of religious pilgrimage in the city due to the fact that at its top
there is a sanctuary that dates from 1640 and that houses the statue of the Fallen Lord of
Monserrate, a Christ who, according to the faithful and devotees, performs miracles.

We will tell you below this series of curious facts that have been transmitted from generation to
generation, every time the history of this eastern hill is discussed.

Chorro de Quevedo

El Chorro, as it is usually called, is one of the public spaces of greatest cultural and tourist interest
in La Candelaria. Its most recent history radically transformed its space, its appearance and its
environment, until it became a place of Bogota identity and a must for anyone visiting the Historic
Center of Bogotá.

At the beginning of the eighties the Chorro de Quevedo was a rather austere square with white
walls, with an almost desolate appearance. Only a stone basin placed in 1968 broke its particular
monotony. Its floating population was quite scarce, the neighbors knew each other and almost no
stores were around it. By then it had already been established in the annals of Bogota history that
this small square had been the place of the first foundation of Bogota. To commemorate this fact,
the dates of the founding of the city were written in stone on the lintel of the façade of one of the
houses in the square: the very remembered and commemorated of August 6, 1538 and the
forgotten and totally unknown of 27 April 1539, date of the legal foundation of the city in the Plaza
de Bolívar. This act was then rejected by various historians.

Monumento de los periodistas

Temple of the Liberator in the Parque de los Periodistas de Bogotá The temple that currently
adorns the Parque de los Periodistas, in front of the building of the Colombian Academy of
Language, was built on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of the Liberator Simón Bolívar in
1883, and remained in the Parque del Centenario, San Diego sector, until it was demolished in
1948, to make way for the 10th race.

On the occasion of the sesquicentennial of Independence, the temple was relocated in the Parque
de los Periodistas, which was remodeled in 1988, for the celebrations of the 450 years of the
founding of Bogotá
The design and construction was entrusted to Pietro Cantini, who was inspired by the Temple of
Vesta in Rome. Inside the temple a statue of Simón Bolívar was placed, which was made by the
Desprey House in Paris based on a sketch by Alberto Urdaneta, on the temple a statue of a Condor
of the Andes was also placed by Desprey. The ornamentation was in charge of the Swiss Luigi
Ramelli.

The statue of Bolívar was later replaced by one made by Ricardo Acevedo Bernal that remained
until 1958. For 15 years the temple was without statues inside. When the current Avenida El
Dorado was built, the temple was moved to the Parque de los Periodistas on Avenida Jiménez. The
statue that is currently in the temple was made by the Peruvian artist Gerardo Benítez in 1973.

The Gabriel García Márquez Journalists Park is a park in Bogotá, located between third and fourth
races, and between 17th Street and the Environmental Axis in the town of Santa Fe. Since 2014, it
bears the name of the Colombian writer and journalist Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Planetario de bogota

The Planetarium of Bogotá was inaugurated on Monday, December 22, 1969 with the presence of
the President of the Republic, Carlos Lleras Restrepo, the Mayor of Bogotá, Emilio Urrea Delgado,
and personalities from the culture and science sectors, as well as diplomatic representatives. .
However, the idea of building a large cultural center in Bogotá with a planetarium came from the
mayor of Bogotá Virgilio Barco Vargas in 1966.

The beginning of the Space Age, which brought many changes to humanity, also aroused in the
public a great interest in astronomy, science and the exploration of the universe, facts that led to
the construction of large planetariums in many countries, a tool invented in Germany, but
rediscovered in that decade as an ideal way to satisfy the public's new demand for scientific
knowledge.

The iconic snail-shaped stage was designed and built by the architectural-engineering firm Pizano,
Pradilla, Caro and Restrepo and, given the project's notable investment cost and the city's low
budget, the mayor made an alliance with the Federation of Coffee Growers to exchange coffee for
the projection system, screen and equipment with the firm Veb Carl Zeiss from the city of Jena in
the German Democratic Republic, at that time the best company to offer the infrastructure and
equipment for large planetariums
 Museo del oro

History of the Gold Museum in Bogotá

This time we are going to travel to the South American continent, specifically to the Republic of
Colombia, to visit one of the most influential cultural and historical venues in the entire country.

We are talking about the Gold Museum in Bogotá, an institution that was born with the main
objective of acquiring, preserving and exhibiting all the pieces of goldsmith and pottery of the
indigenous cultures of the pre-Columbian period of present-day Colombia.

Today this site is listed as one of the most popular museums, not only in Colombia but in the
entire world. The institution was created in 1939 after the Banco de la República acquired a truly
impressive piece: A container of lime or Poporo Quimbaya. It was a few years later, specifically in
1940, when the first exhibition took place in the Bank's meeting room.

In 1947 the authorities assigned a special room to the museum so that it could be seen by special
guests and it was finally in 1959 when the Gold Museum in Bogotá opened its doors for the
enjoyment of the general public, becoming since then one of the most prestigious institutions in
the Republic of Colombia. Throughout its history, this enclosure has undergone several
modifications in terms of its physical structure.

Remodeling

The museum has had some modifications in relation to its original structure, for example, the most
recent architectural and museum project for the renovation and expansion of the headquarters
was carried out in two stages, the first was focused on the construction of a new building that
would be only used for the headquarters of the Gold Museum in Bogotá, which was inaugurated in
1968 in the Santander Park.