Cochabamba
| Cochabamba | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 View of Cochabamba |
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| Basic data | |||
| Population (state) population density |
630,587 inhabitants (2012 census) 4016 inhabitants / km² |
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| rank | Rank 4 | ||
| surface | 157 km² | ||
| height | 2548 m | ||
| Post Code | 03-0101-0100-1001 | ||
| Telephone code | (+591) 4 | ||
| Coordinates | 17 ° 24 ′ S , 66 ° 9 ′ W | ||
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| politics | |||
| Department | Cochabamba | ||
| province | Province of Cercado | ||
| mayor | Edwin Castellanos | ||
Cochabamba ( Quechua : Quchapampa or Qhuchapampa ) is the fourth largest city in Bolivia with 630,587 inhabitants (2012 census) . Cochabamba is the capital of the surrounding department of Cochabamba and the seat of a university. The name comes from the Quechua language and means "lake level" ( qucha , also qhucha = "lake" / "standing water" and pampa = "level").
location
Cochabamba is located in the province of Cercado , about 220 road kilometers southeast of La Paz in the Cordillera Oriental (eastern Andes ) in the fertile and densely populated Cochabamba Valley ( Valle Central de Cochabamba ) at about 2,560 m above sea level. d. M. The Cochabamba valley has a flat valley floor with an extension of about 25 by 10 kilometers to around 2,500 to 2,700 m above sea level. d. M., the surrounding mountains have heights of over 5,000 m above sea level. d. M. The Cochabamba Valley has a sheltered, sunny and moderate climate with an average temperature of 18 ° C.
history
The area around Cochabamba was settled long before the arrival of the Europeans; There are numerous ruins from the Pre- Inca and Inca times in the vicinity of the city .
The colonial era
In 1542 the region became part of the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of Peru and the first European settlers settled there.
The city of Cochabamba was first founded on August 15, 1571 by Gerónimo de Osorio under the name Villa de Oropeza . The name was given in honor of the then viceroy Francisco de Toledo , who came from the family of the Condes de Oropeza ("Counts of Oropeza"). At the instruction of the viceroy, the formal founding act was repeated on January 1, 1574 by Sebastián Barba de Padilla. 1574 is now the official founding year.
The city in the fertile Cochabamba Valley with its favorable climate served as an agricultural center for supplying the Potosí mines and developed into the region's breadbasket.
From 1776 the city belonged as part of the province of Santa Cruz de la Sierra to the newly formed Spanish viceroyalty Río de la Plata .
In 1783 Spain moved the seat of the provincial administration ( intendencia ) from Santa Cruz de la Sierra to the town called Villa de Oropeza del Valle de Cochabamba at that time ; In 1786 the city was renamed Cochabamba .
On September 14, 1810, the residents, led by Francisco de Rivero , Esteban Arze and Melchor Guzmán Quitó , rebelled when it became known that the freedom hero Pedro Domingo Murillo had been executed in La Paz. Its sky-blue flag is now the flag of the Department of Cochabamba. September 14th is a local public holiday.
In May 1812 there was an uprising against Spanish colonial rule. The able-bodied men of the city met the Spanish troops on May 24 and were beaten. The Spanish troops then advanced against the city. The remaining women, children and old people withdrew to the Coronilla and Colina San Sebastián and tried to defend the city only with sticks, stones and primitive weapons. The Spaniards bloodily put down the resistance on May 27, 1812, over 200 of the defenders died. On the Coronilla, the Heroínas de la Coronilla monument ("Heroines of the Coronilla") commemorates the courage of women; To commemorate the event, Mother's Day is celebrated in Bolivia on May 27th regardless of the weekday.
After independence from Spain and the establishment of Bolivia in 1825, Cochabamba became the capital of the newly formed department of the same name .
Water War - Guerra del Agua
In 2000, Cochabamba became the scene of the Guerra del Agua ("Water War"). After the privatization of the water supply, forced by the International Monetary Fund , the new company Aguas de Tunari (a consortium with the participation of Bechtel from the USA, Edison from Italy and Abengoa from Spain as well as other investors) tripled water prices within a very short time. This led to violent protests and a general strike in early 2000. After the demonstrators clashed with the police, violence escalated and in April 2000 martial law was declared on the city. In mid-April 2000, the government finally withdrew from privatization. A total of seven people died and hundreds were injured.
population
The population of Cochabamba has increased several times over in the past decades:
| year | Residents | source |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 184 156 | census |
| 1992 | 397 171 | census |
| 2001 | 516 683 | census |
| 2012 | 630 587 | census |
Due to the historically grown population distribution, the region has a significant proportion of Quechua population, despite the metropolitan transformation in the municipality of Cochabamba, 42.7 percent of the population still speak the Quechua language ( 2001 ).
Cityscape
Outside the flat center, the urban area is sometimes very hilly. The Río Rocha flows to the north and west of the center, and the lake Laguna Alalay to the south-east of the center . Because of its many parks and gardens, the city is nicknamed Ciudad Jardín ("garden city").
The landmark of Cochabamba is the figure of Christ Cristo de la Concordia, erected in 1994 on the Cerro de San Pedro ("Petersberg") in the east of the city, which is about 260 m high . The figure is 34.20 m (with a base over 40 m) high and therefore more than 2 meters higher than its more famous model on Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro . A cable car leads up the mountain with its impressive panoramic view, the Christ the Redeemer, in which there is a stairwell and viewing window, can be climbed on some days. The statue was built on the occasion of the visit of Pope John Paul II (May 1988).
In the center of the city is the Plaza 14 de Septiembre ("September 14th Square") with the cathedral. Here and around the north located Plaza Colón ("Columbus Square") you can still find colonial architecture, otherwise mostly modern buildings characterize the cityscape. North of the Plaza Colón to the Río Roche extends a wide boulevard called El Prado (actually Avenida Ballivián ), on which there are many banks, hotels and restaurants.
The area south of the city center is characterized by the La Cancha market , which stretches across numerous streets and squares. Open seven days a week, it is the largest street market in South America. La Cancha emerged from several separate markets that expanded and merged after the economic reforms in the mid-1980s.
In the east of the city is the extensive campus of the Universidad Mayor de San Simón , one of the most important universities in Bolivia.
To the southwest of the city center is a small ridge with the hills Colina San Sebastián and La Coronilla , on which there is a park. A memorial on the coronilla commemorates the women and children who defended the city against Spanish troops in the struggle for independence in 1812.
traffic
The international airport Aeropuerto Jorge Wilstermann ( IATA code : CBB) is located in the southwest of the urban area and is the home airport of the state airline Boliviana de Aviación . It is named after Jorge Wilstermann Camacho , the first Bolivian pilot of the former airline Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano .
Cochabamba train station is in the south of the city center. The railway line to Oruro has not been in operation for a long time and is no longer maintained. Since then, several parts of the route, some kilometers long, have been completely washed away in storms. Any reconstruction would be tantamount to rebuilding the line. This has been considered time and again at political level since the line was closed. Mainly due to a lack of financial resources, however, it never turned into concrete projects. Another railway line runs as a branch line to Aiquile, 140 km southeast of Cochabamba . Rail buses ( Ferrobuses ) serve this route three times a week.
Cochabamba is connected to the rest of the country by the almost continuously paved road Ruta 4 to Oruro , La Paz and Santa Cruz . The Ruta 7 / Ruta 23 towards Sucre and on to Potosí is only partially paved.
A bus station on the southwestern edge of the city center offers connections to all major cities such as Oruro, La Paz, Sucre and Santa Cruz, but the buses to smaller towns are stationed outside the bus station.
There is a dense network of minibus lines ( Micros ) and collective taxis ( Trufis ) for local public transport . Many lines run past or through the Cancha , the street market. It is often quicker to walk near the Cancha, as it is hardly possible for the minibuses to get through.
From 2017, the city will get a 42 km long tram network consisting of three lines , for which Stadler will deliver 12 Metelitsa trams. The vehicles are built in Minsk and shipped in Klaipeda, Lithuania. The new tram lines use partly abandoned railway lines.
Culture
The highlight of the religious and cultural life is the Fiesta de la Virgen de Urkupiña , which takes place in mid-August , a four-day celebration in honor of the Virgin of Urkupiña , the city's patron saint. Street parades, church services, and all sorts of blessings and customs take place. Traditionally, the city's residents make a pilgrimage in the early morning of August 15 to Quillacollo , about 14 km to the west , in whose church the shrine of the Virgen de Urkupiña is located. The road between the two cities will be closed for the procession until around noon.
Carnaval takes place in February or March .
In October 2004 the first biennial for contemporary art in Bolivia took place in Cochabamba. The curator was the Austrian Angelika Heckl. The German contributions were made by Vera Bourgeois as well as Swaantje Güntzel and Jan Philip Scheibe .
sons and daughters of the town
- Pedro Blanco Soto (1795–1829), politician
- Nataniel Aguirre (1843–1888), poet and politician
- Martín Cárdenas (1899–1973), botanist
- Eduardo Rodríguez (* 1956), lawyer and politician, President of the Supreme Court and (transitional) President of the country from June 9, 2005 to January 22, 2006
- Jorge Quiroga Ramírez (* 1960), politician
- Edmundo Paz Soldán (* 1967), writer
- Rodrigo Hasbún (* 1981), writer
- Lenin Zubieta (* 1984), racing cyclist
various
- The inhabitants of Cochabamba are called cochabambinos .
- The back of the 10 Bolivianos banknote shows the view from Colina San Sebastián over the center of Cochabamba.
- Sister city of Cochabamba is Miami in the US state Florida .
- The football club from Cochabamba is - as the airport - after the first commercial pilot of Bolivia, Jorge Wilstermann named.
- Cochabamba, and especially the Guerra del Agua , is portrayed in the privatization-critical documentary The Big Sale .
- The film drama And Then The Rain is set in Cochabamba and relates to the water war .
- The Trio Quimbando from Cochabamba has named itself the Quimba, the middle part of the Bolivian folk dance Cueca .
Climate table
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Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Cochabamba
Source: wetterkontor.de
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literature
- Oscar Olivera and Tom Lewis: Cochabamba !: Water Rebellion in Bolivia , Boston: South End Press 2004, ISBN 0-89608-702-6
Web links
- Pictures of landmarks
- History of Cochabamba (Spanish)
- Cochabamba-Online , virtual travel guide with detailed information about Cochabamba
- Relief map of the Cochabamba region 1: 250,000 (PDF; 10.6 MB)
- Municipio Cochabamba - detailed map and population data (PDF; 329 kB) ( Spanish )
- Municipio Cochabamba - General Maps No. 30101
- Departamento Cochabamba - social data of the municipalities (PDF; 7.58 MB) ( Spanish )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Qhichwa simipi kawsayninchikmanta rimasrispa , Nº 5, PROEIBANDES, Quchapampa 2012.
- ↑ Wiñay Pacha Allin Kawsaypaq ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Nº 1, Bolivia Suyu Yachay Kamachina Wasi (Ministerio de Educación de Bolivia), La Paz 2012.
- ↑ Claudia Mónica Navarro Vásquez: Ñawpa unaymanta yuyarispa Ramada (Ayopaya-Qhuchapampa) runajina ñawpaqman rinanchikpaq (Políticas de la memoria en la construcción identitaria en Ramada), PROEIBANDES, La Paz 2006. p. 13.
- ↑ Qhichwapi Puquchisqa Qillqay - Ch'uñuchay yachaymanta qillqay . FUNPROEIB Andes, Qhuchapampa, ayamarq'ay killay 2011.
- ↑ Sen Renner & Carlos Velasco: Geología e Hidrogeología del Valle Central de Cochabamba 2000 ( Spanish / English ) (PDF)
- ↑ Thomas Brinkhoff: City Population
- ↑ INE - Instituto Nacional de Estadística Bolivia 1992 ( Memento of the original from April 23, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ INE - Instituto Nacional de Estadística Bolivia 2001 ( Memento of the original dated February 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ INE - Instituto Nacional de Estadística Bolivia 2012 ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ INE social data Cochabamba 2001 ( Memento of the original from November 13, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 8.0 MB)
- ^ University website
