Santa Fe (Bogotá)

Santa Fe is the 3rd locality of Bogotá, Capital District of Colombia. Santa Fe is the traditional downtown of the city of Bogotá. This area once comprised Bogotá's total main urban area, and was known as "Santa Fe de Bogotá" with its traditional neighborhoods.

Santa Fe is one of Bogotá's most developed areas, and includes the area by the Carrera Septima, one of the main arteries with most of Bogotá's skyscrapers. The International Center and the financial district of the Avenida Jimenez are also located within Santa Fe. It also contains the colonial era commercial neighborhood of San Victorino.

The main streets of Bogotá intersect in Santa Fe; the "Carrera Septima" (7th Avenue) formerly known as "Calle Real" (Royal Street), the "Carrera Decima" (10th Avenue), "Calle 26" (26th Street), the "Circunvalar Avenue", "Caracas Avenue", "Ciudad de Lima Avenue" and "Jimenez Avenue".

Santa Fe also has a rural area which cover the mountains of Monserrate and Guadalupe. The locality of La Candelaria was the foundation site of Bogotá and is enclaved in the middle of Santa Fe. La Candelaria was separated from Santa Fe after the creation of the Capital District.

History

Bogotá was founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada in 1538 under the name of Santa Fe. The legal foundation occurred at the Bolívar Square in La Candelaria between the rivers of San Francisco (now Jimenez avenue) and San Agustin (now 6th Street).

During the early years of the 20th Century the city was confined within the present territory of Santa Fe until the 1920s when urbanization expanded towards Chapinero and later towards the west in the 1950s just before the violent days of "El Bogotazo" that partially destroyed the streets.

Santa Fe became a minor Cityhall in 1972 . With the Constitutional reform of 1991, Santa Fe legally became a locality (or a Local Action Junta) of the Capital District.

General Data

*Population: 107.044 people, 1993 Census.
*Average temperature: 13 °C
*Total Area: 4.487,74 ha
*Urban Area: 662,05 ha

Limits

*North: "Canal Arzobispo" or "Calle 39" (39th Street), bordering the locality of Chapinero.
*South : Avenida Primera, con San Cristóbal
*East : "Cerros Orientales" (eastern mountains, bordering with the municipalities of Choachí and Ubaque in Cundinamarca Department.
*West: Avenida Caracas, with Teusaquillo, Los Mártires and Antonio Nariño

Rivers

Santa Fe is crossed by the San Francisco River, San Agustín River, Arzobispo River, San Cristóbal River. Because of its proximity to the Eastern Mountains the urban area near these mountains is tilted some 40 degrees.

Economy

Santa Fe is mostly a commercial area with some small factories and service companies such as financial, hotels and tourism. There are some important universities in the area such as University of the Andes and the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University among others.

ites of Interest

*The National Museum
*Independence Park, Tercer Milenio Park and the Olaya Herrera National Park.
*La Santamaría Bullring (Opening its season in February)
*La Rebeca
*The Natural History Museum
*The Planetary
*The Gold Museum
*The National Library of Colombia
*The churches of San Francisco, "la Tercera", "la Veracruz", and "la Capuchina"
*Las Cruces Marketplace.
*Colpatria Tower.

Neighborhoods and veredas

Neighborhoods

Las Cruces, Los Laches, La Perseverancia, La Concordia, Santa Inés, Santa Bárbara, San Bernardo, La Merced, Egipto, Germania, Las Aguas, La Paz, La Peña, Liévano, Las Nieves, El Consuelo, Belén, Egipto Alto, Central, El Rocío, Tisquesuza, La Macarena and El Bosque Izquierdo.

Veredas

Monserrate and El Vergel mountains.

Transport

TransMilenio operates in the "Avenida Caracas" and "Avenida Jiménez de Quesada". A funicular and an Aerial tramway to climb Monserrate have existed since 1926.

External links

* [http://www.lopublico.redbogota.com/secciones/localidades/santafe Sitio de la Universidad Nacional sobre Santa Fe]