Ciudad Bolívar: Historic Angostura (+anniversary)

Published at: 22/05/2024 08:47 AM

Founded in 1595 under the name of Santo Tomé de Guayana, at the mouth of the Upata River, since its inception it was linked to the Legend of El Dorado.

But on May 22, 1764, it was founded as Ciudad Bolívar, one of the cities in the country that contains the most history in its streets, squares and museums. Formerly known as Angostura, because it is in one of the places where the “superb Orinoco” is narrowest, it was the site of several battles and one of the first areas of the country to be liberated from the Spanish during independence.

Angostura was named in 1818, by Simón Bolívar, the provisional capital of the Republic and that is where the Liberator gave the famous “Angostura Speech ”, on February 15, 1819, in which he renounced the absolute powers that had been granted to him and gave his vision of what the new republic that was beginning should be like.

As a result of its fame, it was robbed, looted and destroyed a dozen times. To avoid assaults and indigenous resistance, its inhabitants and governors moved the city three times, the last time being in 1764, when King Carlos III ordered its transfer to the narrowest area of the Orinoco River where Ciudad Bolívar is now located.

One of the most interesting places in this city is the historic center with Plaza Bolívar where you can find, in addition to the house of the Congress of Angostura, the Cathedral with its Ochre color, the Casa Piar, the parish house and the house of the governors of the colony. There is also the current seat of the government of Bolívar state and a little further up there is the mayor's office of the Heres municipality, with its air bridge that connects two of its buildings.

Mazo News Team