Bucaramanga
Flag Seal
Nickname: The Pretty City
Location of the city and municipality of Bucaramanga in the Santander Department.
Region	Andean Region
Department	Department of Santander*
Foundation	1622
Government
- Mayor	Honorio Galvis Aguilar, (L)
Elevation	1,189 m (3,901 ft)
Population (549,263 2005 est.)
- City	508,102
- Metro	1,012,331
*
Website: www.bucaramanga.gov.co

Bucaramanga is a municipality and capital city of the department of Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga is Colombia's sixth-largest metropolitan area (2003 census: 553,046, metro pop. 979,040). The metropolitan area has experienced rapid growth since the 1960s, much of which has taken place in neighboring municipalities. Image File history File links Flag_of_Bucaramanga. ... Image File history File links Bucaramangaicon. ... This article or section seems to contain too many examples (or of a poor quality) for an encyclopedia entry. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 557 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (2496 × 2684 pixel, file size: 473 KB, MIME type: image/png) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Colombia is a unitary republic conformed by 32 departments (Spanish: departamentos, sing. ... Motto: Santandereanos siempre adelante (Spanish: People of Santander always ahead) Anthem: Himno de Santander Santander shown in red Established May 13, 1857 Region Andes Region Capital Bucaramanga Number of Provinces 8 Number of Municipalities 87 Governor - Governors Political Party Hugo Heliodoro Aguilar Naranjo Civic Peoples Convergence Area Total... Events January 1 - In the Gregorian calendar, January 1 is declared as the first day of the year, instead of March 25. ... A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger, greater) is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer. ... Politics of Colombia Categories: Politics stubs | Liberal related stubs | Colombian political parties | Liberal parties ... Elevation histogram of the surface of the Earth – approximately 71% of the Earths surface is covered with water. ... ‹ The template below (Unit of length) is being considered for deletion. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Colombia is a unitary republic conformed by 32 departments (Spanish: departamentos, sing. ... Motto: Santandereanos siempre adelante (Spanish: People of Santander always ahead) Anthem: Himno de Santander Santander shown in red Established May 13, 1857 Region Andes Region Capital Bucaramanga Number of Provinces 8 Number of Municipalities 87 Governor - Governors Political Party Hugo Heliodoro Aguilar Naranjo Civic Peoples Convergence Area Total... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ...

Bucaramanga is the major commercial center of northeastern Colombia, anchoring a regional network that extends to Cúcuta that borders the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the oil-producing center of Barrancabermeja. Local manufacturing, especially of textiles and shoes, has struggled in the face of legal and contrband imports in recent decades. The city is the base of the Colombian Petroleum Institute (ICP).[1], the research branch of the state oil company Ecopetrol, and the Colombian Natural Gas Company (Ecogas).[2] Nickname: City without borders Motto: More progress! Location of Cúcuta in North Santander Department Country Colombia Department North Santander* Foundation June 17, 1733 Mayor Ramiro Suarez Corzo Area    - City 2150 km² Elevation 360 m Population    - City (2005census) 742,689 [1]  - Metro 721,794 [2] Website: www. ... Barrancabermeja from the Magdalena River Barrancabermeja is a city in Santander, Colombia, on the Magdalena River with 214,192[1] inhabitants. ... Ecopetrol, formally known as Empresa Colombiana de Petróleos S.A. (English: Petroleums Colombian Company), is the largest company and the main petroleum company in Colombia. ...

History

Girón was the first and most significant town founded by Spanish colonizers in the region, and Bucaramanga (founded in 1622) did not overtake Girón in population or economic significance until the early 1800s. In the 1860s and 1870s the city attracted a core of German merchants and adventurers (the most famous of whom was Georg von Lengerke), and tensions between the newcomers and local residents flared in 1879. With the political reorganization of 1886, Bucaramanga replaced Socorro as departmental capital. The region (although not the city itself) was devastated by the civil war of 1899-1902, commonly known as the Thousand Days War and Bucaramanga grew only modestly in the first half of the twentieth century. Combatants Colombian Liberal Party Colombian Conservative Party Commanders Rafael Uribe Uribe Benjamín Herrera Próspero Pinzón Ramón González Valencia Pedro Nel Ospina The Thousand Days War (1899-1902) (Spanish: Guerra de los Mil Dias), was a civil armed conflict in the newly created Republic of Colombia...

Geography

Bucaramanga is located on a plateau in the Cordillera Oriental of the Colombian Andes, and many residents occupy unstable lands descending steeply from the meseta. The city is located at 7°08′N, 73°08′W. The official metropolitan area includes the municipalities of: Girón, Piedecuesta and Floridablanca, but Lebrija is home to Bucaramanga's airport and is commonly considered part of greater Bucaramanga. All four neighboring municipalities contain extensive rural areas despite recent urbanization. The Cordillera Oriental is one of three main mountain ranges that divides the Cordillera in the Andes Mountains of Colombia. ... Girón may refer to: Colombia Girón, Santander, a town in Santander department. ... Piedecuesta is a town and municipality in the Santander Department in northeastern Colombia. ... Floridablanca is a town in the Philippines. ... Location of Lebrija within the Province of Seville Province Seville Mayor Jerónimo Pérez Méndez (PA) Area    - City 372 km²  - Land 372 km²  - Water 0. ...

Municipal flag

The municipal flag of Bucaramanga was designed by the historian Gustavo Gomez Mejia. Made of two green stripes with a yellow one in the middle. In the center is a blue disk, surrounded with a red circle. In the middle of the blue disk is a white star. In the red circle is written the following legend: "Below the azure of its sky and defended by the generous blood of its sons, Bucaramanga is opened to the four horizons of the motherland". (Ivan Sache, 23 March 2001) is the 82nd day of the year (83rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ...

Municipal Coat of Arms

The words "Montani Semper Liberi" are Latin for "Mountaineers are always free". The Great Seal of West Virginia with the state motto found at the bottom. ...

Climatology and Surface

Bucaramanga has a municipal area of 165 km² and is located at 959m above sea level. The average temperature of 23°C (73°F) with an average humidity of 65%. Its medium annual precipitation is of 1,041mm. There are two rain seasons, between March-May and September-November. The dry months of the year are December and January with a medium precipitation of 58mm.

The City

Bucaramanga is also known as the "Ciudad de los Parques" ("The City of the Parks") and "Ciudad Bonita" ("Pretty City"). The city is served by one transportation terminal and the Palonegro Airport, which is located west of the city. In general, the more prosperous areas are along and above Carrera 33 (Cabecera area) and to the south, over the Viaduct in Floridablanca (Cañaveral area), while the poorest areas are to the north (Kennedy area). The site of the old airport, the last big piece of undeveloped land on the plateau itself, was turned into middle-class apartment housing (Ciudadela Real de Minas) in the 1980s. The government center for the city and department, built around the old colonial plaza, is several blocks removed from the commercial center of the city. The departmental university, the Universidad Industrial de Santander (UIS), is in the northeastern part of the city; there are several private universities of varying quality. The Aeropuerto Internacional de Palonegro(IATA Airport Code: BGA ICAO Airport Code: SKBG) is located in the town of Lebrija, about 30 Km west of Bucaramanga, Colombia. ... Torontos Bloor Street Viaduct bridges the Don valley; road traffic uses the upper deck, rail traffic uses the lower deck. ... Floridablanca is a town in the Philippines. ... Image:Universidad Industrial de Santander. ...

In January 20, 2006, Colombian company Telecom launched WiMAX, thus becoming the first city in Colombia, and the second in Latin America to have it. The city is in the initial stages of an articulated-bus mass transit system, called Metrolínea, on the model of the Bogotá Transmilenio system. [3] January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... WiMAX, the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a telecommunications technology aimed at providing wireless data over long distances in a variety of ways, from point-to-point links to full mobile cellular type access. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... Motto: Bogotá, 2600 metros más cerca de las estrellas Bogotá, 2600 meters closer to the stars Localities (localidades) of Bogotá Country Department Foundation August 6, 1538 Government  - Mayor Luis Eduardo Garzón, PDA Area  - City 1,587 km²  (612. ... Calle 19 Station in July 2004 The TransMilenio is a bus rapid transit system that serves Bogotá, Colombia. ...

City's Neighborhoods

Bucaramanga is divided in 23 Main Neighborhoods

1. Norte (North)
2. Nororiente (Northeast)
3. San Francisco
4. Occidente (West)
5. García Rovira
6. La Concordia
7. Ciudadela Real de Minas
8. Suroccidente (Southwest)
9. La Pedregosa
10. Provenza
11. Sur (South)
12. Cabecera del Llano
13. La Floresta
14. Pan De Azucar
15. Terrazas
16. El Prado
17. Alvarez
18. Conucos
19. Oriente (East)
20. Morrorico
21. Centro (Downtown)
22. Lagos del Cacique
23. Mutis

People

Many important personalities from Colombia are from Bucaramanga such as Luis Carlos Galán, presidential candidate, Carlos Ardila Lülle, most important empresary in Colombia, and Horacio Serpa Uribe. Galan campaigning for the presidency of Colombia Luis Carlos Galán (September 29, 1943 – August 18, 1989) was a Colombian politician born in Bucaramanga to Mario Galán and Cecilia Sarmiento. ... Horacio Serpa Uribe (b. ...

Transportation

• Palo Negro International Airport

Panoramic View of Bucaramanga.

Palo Negro International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional de Palo Negro) (IATA: BGA, ICAO: SKBG) is located in the town of Lebrija, about 30 Km west of Bucaramanga, Colombia. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1060x360, 109 KB) Summary Description: Panoramic View of Bucaramanga city Source: own work Date: 15-03-2005 Author: Zuan Carreno URL: http://www. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1060x360, 109 KB) Summary Description: Panoramic View of Bucaramanga city Source: own work Date: 15-03-2005 Author: Zuan Carreno URL: http://www. ...

References

• (Spanish) Vanguardia Liberal; Cuando a Bucaramanga la hicieron capital

External links

Wikisource has an original article from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica about:

Bucaramanga

• Bucaramanga travel guide from Wikitravel
• Bucaramanga Link - Vínculos más representativos de la "Ciudad Bonita".
• Wikitravel Spanish page (Spanish)
• Satellital photographs of Bucaramanga at Wikimapia
• Bucaramanga Daily Photos
• Physical data (Spanish)
• A brief history (Spanish)
• Website of the mayor's office (Spanish)
• City photo Guide (Spanish)
• Metropolitan area of Bucaramanga(Spanish)
• Local Chamber of Commerce (Spanish)
• Maps and virtual tours(English and Spanish)

v • d • e Municipalities in Santander Department

Aguada • Albania • Aratoca • Barbosa • Barichara • Barrancabermeja • Betulia • Bolívar • Bucaramanga • Cabrera • California • Capitanejo • Carcasi • Cepita • Cerrito • Charala • Charta • Chima • Chipata • Cimitarra • Concepción • Confines • Contratación • Coromoro • Curiti • El Carmen • El Florián • El Guacamayo • El Peñón • El Playón • Encino • Enciso • Floridablanca • Galan • Gambita • Girón • Guaca • Guadalupe • Guapota • Guavata • Guepsa • Hato • Jesus María • Jordan • La Belleza• Landazuri • La Paz • Lebrija • Los Santos • Macaravita • Málaga • Matanza • Mogotes • Molagavita • Ocamonte • Oiba • Onzaga • Palmar • Palmas Socorro • Paramo • Piedecuesta • Pinchote • Puente Nacional • Puerto Parra • Puerto Wilches • Rionegro • Sabana de Torres • San Andrés • San Benito • San Gil • San Joaquín • San José Miranda • San Miguel • Santa Bárbara • Santa Helena del Opón • San Vicente de Chucurí • Simacota • Socorro • Suaita • Sucre • Surata • Tona • Valle San José • Vélez • Vetas • Villanueva • Zapatoca