It is the main political, economic, administrative, industrial, cultural, aeronautical, technological, scientific, medical and educational center of the country and northern South America.

[17][18][19][20][21][22] Bogotá was founded as the capital of the New Kingdom of Granada on 6 August 1538 by Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada after a harsh expedition into the Andes conquering the Muisca, the indigenous inhabitants of the Altiplano.

The religion of the Muisca consisted of various gods, mostly related to natural phenomena as the Sun (Sué) and his wife, the Moon; Chía, rain Chibchacum, rainbow Cuchavira and with building and feasting (Nencatacoa) and wisdom (Bochica).

Their complex luni-solar calendar, deciphered by Manuel Izquierdo based on work by Duquesne, followed three different sets of years, where the sidereal and synodic months were represented.

[41] The Muisca warrior elite were allowed to wear feathered crowns, from parrots and macaws whose habitat was to the east of the Andes; the Arawakan-speaking Guayupe, Tegua and Achagua.

Such was the target of Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, the Granadanian conquistador who left Santa Marta on 6 April 1536 with 800 soldiers, heading towards the interior of current Colombia.

[citation needed] President Rafael Núñez declared the end of Federalism, and in 1886 the country became a centralist republic ruled by the constitution in force – save some amendments – up to 1991.

[citation needed] Between 1924 and 1928, hard union struggles began, with oil fields and banana zone workers' strikes, leaving numerous people dead.

[citation needed] Plaza de Bolívar and surroundings lodged hat stores, at Calle del Comercio –current Carrera Seventh– and Calle Florián –now Carrera Eight– luxurious stores selling imported products opened their doors; at Pasaje Hernández, tailor's shops provided their services, and between 1870 and 1883, four main banks opened their doors: Bogotá, Colombia, Popular and Mortgage Credit banks.

[citation needed] The city began the 21st century with important changes in its urban space and public transport, looking to plan demographic and economic growth, that would position it as a strategic hub for international business in Latin America.

There was no real urban public transport system that would serve as an alternative to the private vehicle – which further incentivized its use – and the city had low levels of competitiveness in Latin America, as well as an unsatisfactory quality of life for the vast majority of its inhabitants.

The administrations of mayors Andrés Pastrana (1988–90) and Jaime Castro (1992–94), in addition to the first of Antanas Mockus (1995–97), formulated proposals to solve the problem of public transport, with limited results.

Under the second administration of Antanas Mockus, Bogotá opened a 'zone of tolerancia' which legalized prostitution in a large swath of the center of the city in the Santa Fe neighborhood.

Consequently, in the execution of the development plan "For the Bogotá we Want" in terms of mobility and in a mass transportation system project, the construction of special infrastructure exclusively for its operation was determined.

Although the proposal for biarticulated diesel buses called "Transmilenio" was in its early stages a success, due in part to the small numbers of passengers it transported, in the long term it became an inefficient and contaminating system, saturated for a metro population of almost ten million, guilty of environmental deterioration and air pollution.

[49] For its part, the cultural equipment plan of Bogotá has yielded significant results, including the construction of three large public libraries in different sectors.

However, due to the poor street conditions because of the potholes and waste, in addition to the lack of cultural and social activity at night, the ornaments were reserved to indoors where Bogotanos spent most of their time.

[67] In 1847, the city governor and the council tried to expand the urban area of Bogotá beyond the colonial limits, whereas, only until the 1860s was that expansion encouraged by the president of Colombia Tomas Cipriano de Mosquera.

[67] These initiatives tried to update the undeveloped city to the new technologies of the 1800s; however, the pace remained slow, and only after 1882, when the train and the trolley came to Bogotá, some urban development projects progressed more quickly.

[citation needed] Bogotá has gone to great lengths to change its formerly notorious crime rate and its image with increasing success after being considered in the 1990s to be one of the most violent cities in the world.

[83] Bogotá is the capital of the Republic of Colombia, and houses the Congress, Supreme Court of Justice and the center of the executive administration as well as the residence of the President (Casa de Nariño).

In the eastern mountains of the city, just a few minutes walking from main roads, there are Quebrada La vieja and Chapinero Waterfalls, two of many green spots for sightseeing and tourism with clean air.

[106] The network is integrated with the TransMilenio bus system which has bicycle parking facilities, therefore rendering it feasible to cross the entire metropolitan area while riding a bike.

Bogotá has many cultural venues including 58 museums, 62 art galleries, 150 libraries (of different types), 45 stage theaters, 75 sports and attraction parks, and over 150 national monuments.

Bogotá has worked in recent years to position itself as leader in cultural offerings in South America, and it is increasingly being recognized worldwide as a hub in the region for the development of the arts.

Typical dishes of Bogotá include the ajiaco,[132] a soup prepared with chicken, a variety of potatoes, corn on the cob, and guascas (an herb), usually served with sour cream and capers, and accompanied by avocado and rice.

Colombian tamal is a paste made with rice, beef, pork and/or chicken (depending on the region), chickpea, carrot, and spices, wrapped in plantain leaves and steam-cooked.

The yellow denotes the gold from the earth, as well as the virtues of justice, clemency, benevolence, the so-called "mundane qualities" (defined as nobility, excellence, richness, generosity, splendor, health, steadfastness, joy and prosperity), long life, eternity, power and constancy.

The red denotes the virtue of charity, as well as the qualities of bravery, nobility, values, audacity, victory, honor and furor, Colombians call it the blood of their people.

[citation needed] In addition, Bogotá cooperates with: Amazonas Antioquia Arauca Atlántico Bolívar Boyacá Caldas Caquetá Casanare Cauca Cesar Chocó Córdoba Cundinamarca Guainía Guaviare Huila La Guajira Magdalena Meta Nariño N. Santander Putumayo Quindío Risaralda San Andrés Santander Sucre Tolima Valle del Cauca Vaupés Vichada