Maracaibo
Maracaibo | ||
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Coordinates: 10 ° 38 ′ N , 71 ° 38 ′ W Maracaibo on the map of Zulia
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Basic data | ||
Country | Venezuela | |
State | Zulia | |
City foundation | September 8, 1529 | |
Residents | 2,001,591 (2013) | |
City insignia | ||
Detailed data | ||
surface | 393 km 2 | |
Population density | 5,089 inhabitants / km 2 | |
height | 6 m | |
Waters | Maracaibo lake | |
Post Code | 4001, 4002, 4003, 4004, 4005 | |
prefix | (+58) 261 | |
License Plate | V | |
Time zone | UTC -4: 30 | |
City Presidency | Daniel Ponne (internal) | |
City patron | San Sebastian | |
Website | ||
Panoramic image of the city |
Maracaibo is a port city on Lago de Maracaibo in the northwest of the South American country Venezuela . It is the capital of the state of Zulia , with over two million inhabitants it is the second largest metropolitan area in the country after Caracas and one of the largest cities in the Caribbean .
geography
The city lies on the western bank of an 8 km wide strait , Canal de San Carlos , which connects Lake Maracaibo in the south with the Gulf of Venezuela in the north and thus with the Caribbean. This strait is crossed by the 9-kilometer General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge . On the other bank, southeast of Maracaibo, is the town of Cabimas, 20 km away . In the north of the city extends the Guajira Peninsula , which for the most part belongs to the neighboring country of Colombia. The Colombian border is only 100 km from Maracaibo in the west and north. The city of Coro is 250 km to the east .
The city's climate is semi-arid , and the maximum daily temperatures are fairly constant over the year between 29 and 32 ° C. Maracaibo is the hottest city in Venezuela and is hit by rains from September to November.
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Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Maracaibo
Source: wetterkontor.de
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traffic
In 2006 a subway line (the Metro del Sol Amado ) with 6 stations was opened. Further expansion is planned. Most of the local public transport is handled by buses: in addition to regular buses ( Bus ), there are medium-sized buses ( Buseta ) and minibuses called Microbus or Colectivo .
The international airport Maracaibo (Aeropuerto Internacional La Chinita) (MAR) is located approx. 15 km from the city limits in a south-westerly direction. It offers connections to Bogotá , Miami , Panama City , Caracas and other Venezuelan cities.
Venezolana , the airline founded in 2001 , is based in Maracaibo.
Much of Venezuela's oil trade is carried out through the port of Maracaibos.
Culture
The maracuchos are very proud of their city and its culture. Indian influences are palpable everywhere. Most of the immigrants came from Spain , especially Andalusia , but also from Italy and Germany . The Gaita Zuliana , a music originally played at Christmas, was combined with other musical styles.
Baseball (club: Águilas del Zulia ), soccer ( UA Maracaibo and Zulia FC ) and basketball ( Gaiteros del Zulia ) are popular in the city.
The Estadio José Encarnación Romero is a multifunctional stadium for 42,000 spectators, which is mainly used for football matches.
history
The first settlements in the area were established by the Arawak and Caribs .
Maracaibo was founded on September 8, 1529 by the then governor of Little Venice , Ambrosius Alfinger (or Ehinger), as New Nuremberg. Corresponding documents from 1555, which come from the priest Juan de Robledo, were only rediscovered in 1938. The settlement was not recognized as a city because it had no town hall and was politically and legally dependent on Coro . The partially used name "Villa de Maracaibo" goes back to a Coquibacoa chief of the same name. The settlement was probably further north of what is now Maracaibos, on the Guajira Peninsula , and was abandoned in 1535 due to increasing hostility from the indigenous population.
On August 4, 1569, Maracaibo was founded as Ciudad Rodrigo de Maracaibo for the second time, this time by Trujillo Governor Alonso Pacheco with the consent of the Captain General of Venezuela, Don Pedro Ponce de León. A town hall was built and thus the status of a town was achieved, but in 1573 the population - just 30 families - left the place again.
A year later, Pedro Maldonado founded the city with 35 people for the third time. Her name Nueva Zamora de la Laguna de Maracaibo refers to Zamora in Spain, the birthplace of Governor Diego de Mazariego, to whom Maldonado was subordinate.
In 1667 the pirate François l'Olonnais raided the city. The population was subjected to massive attacks for several weeks, including looting, rape and other harassment. In March 1669 there was another pirate attack by Henry Morgan .
In 1810 the province of Maracaibo did not join the first republic of Venezuela, but was loyal to Spain. In 1821 there was fighting between the royalists under Francisco Tomás Morales and the supporters of independence under Rafael Urdaneta , who won in 1823.
For a long time the city was only connected to the rest of Venezuela by ferry, making Colombia easier to get to. This isolation encouraged efforts to become an independent state from Venezuela, called La República Independiente del Zulia , which never came about.
Maracaibo flourished with the increasing demand for coffee from the mountainous regions of Venezuela, which was then a luxury good at the time. The five German Houses of the coffee trade, which then settled in Maracaibo, counted until the coup of the most important companies of Venezuela. The most important person in town was the head of the “Montovio Minlos & Company” house. Emil Minlos held the office of royal Prussian consul there from 1858 to 1866 . A severe earthquake in Lake Maracaibo only shook the coffee trade there briefly in 1865.
In 1962 the General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge was opened over Lake Maracaibo ; this meant that Maracaibo could also be reached by land from eastern Venezuela.
Today the city consists of northern Maracaibo and southern San Francisco, founded in 1995.
Worth seeing
The church " La Chinita " is a famous place of pilgrimage, where the Blessed Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a woman in her place on her washboard. The board still decorates the altar today and is visited by hundreds of believers every day.
Universities
The Zulia University (“La Universidad del Zulia”, LUZ), founded in 1891, is the largest of five public and private universities (e.g. URBE and URU).
sons and daughters of the town
- Ricardo Aguirre (1939–1969), composer and singer
- Luis Aparicio (born 1934), baseball player
- Rafael María Baralt (1810-1860), diplomat and writer
- Héctor Barinas (1935–1979), singer and composer
- Evert Bastet (* 1950), Canadian sailor
- Eduard Bermúdez (* 1984), boxer
- Cheo García (1926–1994), singer
- Christian Kerez (* 1962), Swiss architect
- Daniela Larreal (* 1973), racing cyclist
- Ninibeth Leal (* 1971), Miss World 1991
- Roberto Lückert León (* 1939), Archbishop
- Massimo Margiotta (* 1977), Venezuelan-Italian football player
- Armando Molero (1900–1971), songwriter
- Carlos Caridad Montero (* 1967), film producer
- Memo Morales (1937-2017), singer
- Humberto Fernández Morán (1924–1999), scientist
- Nicolás Gregorio Nava Rojas (* 1963), Roman Catholic clergyman, Bishop of Machiques
- Edgar Peña Parra (* 1960) Roman Catholic clergyman, Curia Archbishop
- Felipe Pirela (1941–1972), singer
- Leo Rafael Reif (* 1950), American electrical engineer and university professor
- Rafael Romero (* 1938), athlete
- Helizandro Terán Bermúdez (* 1965), Roman Catholic religious, Bishop of Ciudad Guayana
- Alfredo Enrique Torres Rondón (* 1950), Catholic clergyman, Bishop of San Fernando de Apure
- Daniele Schneider-Wessling (1959–1994), German stage and costume designer
- Nercely Soto (* 1990), sprinter
- Mario Suárez (1926-2018), singer
- Rafael Urdaneta (1788–1845), hero of the War of Independence
- Vivian Urdaneta (* 1979), Miss International 2000
- Jorge Valdivia (* 1983), Chilean football player
- Raúl Vale (1944–2003), Mexican singer, composer and actor
The impostor and writer Harry Domela probably died in Maracaibo around 1978.
particularities
Maracaibo served as the backdrop for the film Two Missionaries , starring Bud Spencer and Terence Hill .
The city is also frequently mentioned in pirate films , where it either serves as the seat of Spanish governors or as a pirate refuge.
Twin cities
Maracaibo has the following seventeen twin cities :
literature
in order of appearance
- The American Enterprises of the Augsburg Welsers, 1525-1547. Based on presentations by Hermann A. Schumacher . In: Deutsche Geographische Blätter , vol. 12 (1889), pp. 5–21 ( digitized version ).
- Gustavo Ocando Yamarte: Historia del Zulia. Editorial Arte, Caracas 1986, ISBN 980-6033-71-X .
- Heike Härtel: The German trading activities in Maracaibo in the second half of the 19th century . In: Thomas Fischer (ed.): Foreign companies and local elites in Latin America. Historical experiences and current trends . Vervuert, Frankfurt am Main 2001, ISBN 3-89354-744-4 , pp. 73-92.
- Manuel Ortega Navarro: Vanguardia en el interior. The experiencia de Maracaibo en el siglo XX . In: Rodrigo Gutiérrez Viñuales (ed.): Arte latinoamericano del siglo XX. Otras historias de la historia . Prensas Universitarias de Zaragoza, Zaragoza 2005, ISBN 84-7733-792-6 , pp. 331-344.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Maracaibo - Frendy.de
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from April 22, 2012 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.
- ↑ http://www.venezuelatuya.com/occidente/maracaibodeu.htm
- ↑ Germán Cardozo Galue: Impacto del comercio inglés en la economía regional Marabina (1870-1900) , 2013
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from September 13, 2007 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.
- ↑ Maracaibo en la region de Zulia - Municipio y alcaldía de Venezuela - alcaldía Venezuela - Información alcaldía, ciudades y pueblos de Venezuela. Retrieved December 8, 2019 .