Panama City

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Panama City
Coordinates: 8 ° 58 ′  N , 79 ° 32 ′  W
Map: Panama
marker
Panama City​
Location of Panama City in the Panamá Province
Basic data
Country Panama
province Panama
District Panama
City foundation August 15, 1519
Residents 813.097  ()
- in the metropolitan area 1,215,575
City insignia
Bandera de Ciudad de Panamá.svg
Coat of Arms of Panama City, svg
Detailed data
surface 2,560.8
Population density 275 inhabitants / km 2
height 2  m
City structure 19 Corregimientos
Waters Panama Canal , Pacific
prefix +507 2
Time zone UTC -5
Website municipio.gob.pa
Panama City skyline
Panama City skyline

Panama City (Spanish: Ciudad de Panamá ) is the capital and seat of government of the Central American state of Panama and, with around 813,097 inhabitants, the largest city in the country. It is located in the south in the province of Panama on the Pacific coast, directly east of the Panama Canal . The modern city is the economic, political, tourist and cultural center of the country. In economic terms, it is a cosmopolitan city .

history

The Spanish governor Pedro Arias Dávila founded Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Panamá on August 15, 1519, around 10 km east of today's city center (Casco). On August 15, 1521 the city received its current name and coat of arms. With the discovery of the Inca Empire in Peru , the city soon became an important trading center. The riches of the Incas were transported from here to Europe .

In 1671 the city was destroyed by the English pirate Henry Morgan and then rebuilt about 5 km southwest of it, in its current location. Ruins of the former settlement still exist and are called Panamá la Vieja . After the city was looted by numerous pirates in the following years, the trade increasingly lost its importance, but thanks to its geographical location on the Isthmus of Panama, it soon became important again. Panama City only experienced increased growth after the construction of the Panama Canal. In 1903 Panama City was declared the capital.

With the construction of the first railway line and finally the Panama Canal, the city experienced an enormous economic boom in the late 19th and especially in the 20th century. The city is currently experiencing rapid growth in size, with not only immigration but also property speculation and possibly the laundering of Colombian drug money playing a role.

The diocese of Santa María de La Antigua del Panamá was established as early as 1513 by Pope Leo X. In 1925 it was elevated to the Archbishopric of Panama and placed directly under the Holy See . The episcopal church is the Cathedral of Santa Maria la Antigua .

Government and Administration

Panama City is located in the Panamá district of the Panamá province of the same name . The Panamá district is divided into 24 corregimientos , 13 of which form the area of ​​Panama City.

José Isabel Blandón ( Partido Panameñista ) has been mayor ( alcalde ) of the Panamá district since 2014 . He succeeded Roxana Méndez .

economy

Panama Canal Zone and Panama City
Panama City, financial district

Panama City is today an internationally important banking and offshore center . As a result of the country's liberal tax policy, in connection with the settlement of large banks from the late 1970s, the place has developed into an important international banking center.

104 predominantly international banks are headquartered or have branches in the city; there are hardly any other place in the world where there are more bank branches. The service sector and shipping traffic to the seaport in the west of the city are also a major economic factor . There are five large multi-storey shopping centers and shopping streets such as Avenida central .

In a ranking of cities according to their quality of life, Panama City ranked 96th out of 231 cities worldwide in 2018.

education

In addition to numerous schools, there are the state universities Universidad de Panamá (UP, comparable to the free universities), Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá (UTP, the technical university), the private universities Universidad Católica Santa María La Antigua (USMA, Catholic), and the Universidad Latina .

media

Panama City is the place of publication for large national newspapers in Spanish such as Mi Diario , El Panamá América , La Estrella de Panamá and others. a. La Prensa was founded in 1980 with the aim of establishing a newspaper that is free from state influence. It has (as of 2010) a circulation of 65,000 pieces.

Some English-language newspapers are also published here.

Buildings in the old town

architecture

Panama City - In the foreground the Supreme Court and the Church of St. Francis of Assisi

With Panama's expansion into a financial center, the small metropolis has grown unprecedented for Central America. Eight of the ten largest skyscrapers in Latin America are located in the city; 22 skyscrapers alone with a height of over 200 meters have given Panama a skyline that flashes across the canal. In addition to modern architecture, historical buildings have also been preserved.

The old city area ( Panamá Viejo ) is preserved as a ruin site and in 2003 the UNESCO - World Heritage declared. In addition to the central plaza with cathedral, town hall and bishop's palace, several monasteries as well as the hospital and a few residential buildings of the upper class have been preserved. Archaeological studies with the participation of the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen try, among other things, to gain more detailed information on urban development and the social topography within the city.

The F&F Tower (242.9 meters), built in 2011, is one of the tallest buildings in Panama.

The Museo de la Biodiversidad planned by the Canadian architect Frank Gehry was inaugurated in October 2014 .

traffic

Metro de Panamá

Metro line 2 in Panama

Panama's transportation system went through some changes from 2011 to 2014. On April 5, 2014, the Metro de Panamá, with a length of 15.8 km, with almost 7 km running underground, was the first subway line with 14 stops between the Albrook bus station ( Gran Terminal Nacional de Transportes ) in the south and the mall Los Andes opened in the north. Two more lines, lines 2 and 3 are under construction or in planning. A section of Line 2 was temporarily put into operation from January 18 to 28, 2019 in order to be able to transport the masses of participants of the World Youth Day . In future, the line is to connect Tocumen International Airport to the east with the city center and line 3 to connect the western region across the canal with the city. An expansion of a bus rapid transit system is planned.

train

The city has a train station on Panama's only railway line that runs from Panama City to Colón . However, the route is mainly used by freight traffic.

Airport

The Panama International Airport (Aeropuerto Internacional de Tocumen) is located about 24 km east of the city limits. It will be expanded and rebuilt in five phases from 2006 to probably 2030. While over 13 million passengers were handled in 2015, up to 20 million passengers per year should be able to be handled at this important hub of Panama-based Copa Airlines .

Puente de las Americas
The Puente Centenario with the Panama flag

seaport

The city has an important seaport at Balboa east of the canal .

Bypass roads

West of the city is the Bridge of the Americas (Spanish Puente de las Américas ), a 1,669.20 meter long arched bridge that spans the canal. Opened in 1962, the bridge was the only bridge between the southern and northern parts of Central America until the Puente Centenario opened in 2004.

With the 7.6 km long urban motorway Cinta Costera (“coastal belt”) opened on April 9, 2014 , an important part of the new urban road network was put into operation. The project was created despite considerable reservations from UNESCO in order to divide up the high volume of traffic and to create urban spaces that should have a positive effect on the residents of the area. The project includes the construction of the new Maracana Stadium, pedestrian bridges, panoramic viewing platforms and a 2.6 km long sea viaduct that bypasses the UNESCO World Heritage Site Casco Viejo in a wide arc around for better access to the neighborhoods of San Felipe, Santa Ana and El Chorrillo to worry.

Attractions

The Catedral Metropolitana in Casco Viejo
The House of Worship
Skyline
  • Panama Canal
    • Miraflores locks
    • Pedro Miguel locks
  • Casco Viejo (also known as Casco Antiguo & San Felipe ) is the old quarter of the city with colonial buildings, various churches and the presidential palace
  • Panamá la Vieja (ruined city, museum)
  • Palacio de las Garzas , the presidential palace
  • Calzada, dam parallel to the canal entrance
  • Museo Afroantillano de Panamá
  • Parque Municipal Summit Zoo and Botanical Gardens - about 30 minutes outside of town
  • House of worship of the Bahai

Twin cities

sons and daughters of the town

Climate table

Panama City
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
29
 
32
22nd
 
 
15th
 
32
22nd
 
 
16
 
32
22nd
 
 
76
 
32
23
 
 
203
 
31
24
 
 
200
 
30th
23
 
 
185
 
31
23
 
 
194
 
30th
23
 
 
193
 
30th
23
 
 
263
 
29
23
 
 
255
 
30th
23
 
 
135
 
31
22nd
Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm
Source: wetterkontor.de
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Panama City
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 31.5 31.9 32.4 32.3 31.0 30.3 30.6 30.4 29.8 29.4 30.1 30.8 O 30.9
Min. Temperature (° C) 21.7 21.9 22.4 23.2 23.5 23.4 23.0 23.0 22.9 22.8 22.7 22.1 O 22.7
Precipitation ( mm ) 29 15th 16 76 203 200 185 194 193 263 255 135 Σ 1,764
Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 8.6 8.7 8.3 6.3 5.6 4.3 5.0 4.8 5.3 4.8 5.0 6.8 O 6.1
Rainy days ( d ) 4th 2 2 6th 16 16 15th 15th 15th 20th 18th 12 Σ 141
Water temperature (° C) 27 27 26th 27 27 27 28 27 27 27 27 27 O 27
Humidity ( % ) 75 72 70 73 83 86 85 87 87 88 87 81 O 81.2
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
31.5
21.7
31.9
21.9
32.4
22.4
32.3
23.2
31.0
23.5
30.3
23.4
30.6
23.0
30.4
23.0
29.8
22.9
29.4
22.8
30.1
22.7
30.8
22.1
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		29
15th
16
76
203
200
185
194
193
263
255
135
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source: wetterkontor.de

See also

Web links

Commons : Panama City  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

swell

  1. ↑ Population figures of the districts of Panama City ( Memento of the original from March 28, 2017 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. . mupa.gob.pa. Accessed March 27, 2017 (Spanish) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / mupa.gob.pa
  2. ^ History of Panama City on municipio.gob.pa
  3. ↑ History of Panama City ( Memento of the original from November 17, 2011 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. on goruma.de @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.goruma.de
  4. ↑ Mercer's 2018 Quality of Living Rankings. Retrieved August 18, 2018 .
  5. ↑ La Prensa website . prensa.com. Accessed January 7, 2017 (Spanish)
  6. ^ A festival for all birds, mammals and reptiles in FAZ from October 6, 2014, page 16
  7. ↑ Panama Metro (with map) . mapa-metro.com. Accessed January 7, 2017
  8. ↑ Website of the Metro den Panamá with line 1 . elmetrodepanama.com. Accessed January 7, 2017 (Spanish)
  9. ^ Line 2 Metro de Panamá . elmetrodepanama.com. Accessed January 7, 2017 (Spanish)
  10. ^ Line 3 Metro de Panamá . elmetrodepanama.com. Accessed January 7, 2017 (Spanish)
  11. ^ Red Maestra del Metro de Panamá . elmetrodepanama.com. Accessed January 7, 2017 (Spanish)
  12. ↑ website of Mibus Panamá with the new route . mibus.com.pa. Accessed April 25, 2019 (Spanish)
  13. ↑ Archeology
  14. ↑ Cinta Costera Viaduct  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . tylin.com. Accessed January 7, 2017 (English)@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.tylin.com  
  15. ^ Cinta Costera | Phase 3 . doka.com. Accessed January 7, 2017
  16. ↑ Panama's Cinta Costera wins Global Award . newsroompanama.com. Accessed January 7, 2017 (English)
  17. ↑ Miraflores Visitors Center (Engl.)
  18. ↑ Summit Botanical Gardens and Zoo (Eng.)