thumb|right|290px|Sketch of Caracas in 1812Caracas () is the
capital and largest city of
Venezuela. It is located in the north of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the
Venezuelan coastal mountain range (Cordillera de la Costa). The valley's temperatures are springlike. Terrain suitable for building lies between 760 and 910 m (2,500 and 3,000 ft)
above sea level. The valley is close to the
Caribbean Sea, separated from the coast by a steep 2200 m (7400 ft) high
mountain range,
Cerro Ávila; to the south there are more hills and mountains.
El Distrito Metropolitano de Caracas (Metropolitan District of Caracas) includes the
Distrito Capital (the capital city proper) and four other municipalities in
Miranda State including
Chacao,
Baruta,
Sucre, and
El Hatillo. The city of Caracas had a population of 3,196,514 as of 2008.
The population of the
urban agglomeration has been estimated to be approximately 4.95 million.
History
thumb|left|150px|Conqueror Diego de Losada, founder of Santiago de León de Caracas
At the time of its founding, more than five hundred years ago, the valley of Caracas was populated by indigenous peoples.
Francisco Fajardo, the son of a
Spanish captain and a Guaiqueri
cacica, attempted to establish a plantation in the valley in 1562 after founding a series of coastal towns. Fajardo's settlement did not last long. It was destroyed by natives of the region led by
Terepaima and
Guaicaipuro. This was the last rebellion on the part of the natives. On July 25, 1567, Captain
Diego de Losada laid the foundations of the city of
Santiago de León de Caracas.
During the 1600s, the coast of Venezuela was frequently raided by
pirates. With the coastal mountains as a barrier, Caracas was relatively immune to such attacks – one of the reasons it became the principal city of the region. However, in the 1680s, buccaneers crossed the mountains through a little-used pass while the town's defenders were guarding the more often-used one, and, encountering little resistance, sacked and set fire to the town.
The cultivation of cocoa under the
Compañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas stimulated the development of the city, which in 1777 became the capital of the
Captaincy General of Venezuela.
An attempt at revolution to gain independence organized by
José María España and
Manuel Gual was put down on July 13, 1797. But the ideas of the
French Revolution and the
American Wars of Independence inspired the people, and on July 5, 1811, a
Declaration of Independence was signed in Caracas. This city was also the birthplace of two of Latin America's most important figures of the
Venezuelan War of Independence:
Francisco de Miranda and "
El Libertador"
Simón Bolívar. An
earthquake destroyed Caracas on March 26, 1812, which was portrayed by authorities as a divine punishment for the rebellion against the Spanish Crown. The war continued until June 24, 1821, when Bolívar gained a decisive victory over the
royalists at the
Battle of Carabobo.
[Maurice Wiesenthal, The History and Geography of a Valley, 1981.]As the economy of oil-rich Venezuela grew steadily during the first part of the twentieth century, Caracas became one of Latin America's economic centers, and was also known as the preferred travel hub between Europe and South America. During the 1950s, Caracas began an intensive modernization program which continued throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. The
Universidad Central de Venezuela, designed by modernist architect
Carlos Raúl Villanueva and now a
UNESCO monument, was built. New working- and middle-class residential districts sprouted in the valley, extending the urban area towards the east and southeast. Joining
El Silencio, also designed by Villanueva, were several workers' housing districts, 23 de Enero and Simon Rodriguez. Middle class developments include Bello Monte, Los Palos Grandes, Chuao, and El Cafetal. On October 17, 2004, one of the
Parque Central towers caught fire. The dramatic change in the economic structure of the country, which went from being primarily agricultural to dependent on oil production, stimulated the fast development of Caracas, and made it a magnet for people in rural communities who migrated to the capital city in an unplanned fashion searching for greater economic opportunities. This migration created the
rancho (slum) belt of the valley of Caracas.
Symbols
thumb|250px|right|upright|Colonial painting of Our Lady of Caracas, Patroness of the citythumb|right|250px|upright|View of Caracas in 1839; once a beautiful, colonial city of red-tiled roofs, the city now has many skyscrapersThe flag of Caracas consists of a burgundy red field with the version of the
Coat of Arms of the City (effective since the 1980s). The red field symbolises the blood spilt by
Caraquenian people in favour of independence and the highest ideals of the Venezuelan Nation. Later, in the year 1994, presumably as a result of the change of municipal authorities, it was decided to increase the size of the Caracas coat of arms and move it to the centre of the field. This version of the flag is still in use today.
The coat of arms of the City of Caracas was adopted by the
Libertador Municipality to identify itself. Later, the
Metropolitan Mayor Office assumed the lion, the scallop and
Saint James' Cross for the same purpose.
The anthem of the city is the
Marcha a Caracas, written by the composer
Tiero Pezzuti de Matteis with the lyrics by
José Enrique Sarabia. The lyrics are said to be inspired by the heroism of the Caracas people, and the memory of the
City of Red Roofs. Incidentally, the
National Anthem of Venezuela (
Gloria al Bravo Pueblo) recites: "...Y si el despotismo levanta la voz, seguid el ejemplo que Caracas dio." ("...and if despotism raises its voice, follow the example that Caracas gave."), reflecting the fact that, in addition to generously giving many heroic fighters to wage the War of Independence, the junta set up in Caracas (April 19, 1810) served as inspiration for other regions to do the same, as did its
declaration of independence a year later.
Local government
Caracas has five municipalities: Baruta, El Hatillo, Chacao, Libertador and Sucre. The
constitution of Venezuela specifies that municipal governments be divided into
executive and
legislative branches. The executive government of the municipality is governed by the mayor, while the legislative government is managed by the
Municipal council. In March 8, 2000, the year after a new constitution was introduced in Venezuela, it was
decreed in
Gaceta Official N° 36,906 that the
Metropolitan District of Caracas would be created, and that some of the powers of these municipalities would be delegated to the
Alcaldía Mayor, physically located in the large Libertador municipality, in the center of the city.
In 2009, Congress stripped the mayor of control of Libertador and replaced him with an official hand-picked by the president.
Economy
Businesses located here include service companies, banks, and malls, among others. Most economic activity is in services, excepting some industries established in its metropolitan area. The
Caracas Stock Exchange and
Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) is headquartered here. The PDVSA is the largest company in Venezuela and negotiates all the
international agreements for the distribution and export of petroleum.
Small and medium industry contribute to the Caracas economy. The city has communication and transportation infrastructure between the metropolitan area and the country. Caracas is a regional center for the distribution of products. The high concentration of population has also been an important factor for the growth of retail wholesale markets, which form the fastest-growing segment of commerce in the region. Important industries in Caracas include
chemicals,
textiles,
leather,
food,
iron and
wood products. There are also
rubber and
cement factories.
Cost of living
A 2009
United Nations survey reported that the
cost of living was 89% higher than its baseline,
New York City.
Geography
thumb|left|450px|North-south view of central Caracas from Cerro El ÁvilaCaracas is contained entirely within a valley of the
Venezuelan central range, and separated from the Caribbean coast by a roughly 15 km expanse of El Ávila
National Park. The valley is relatively small and quite irregular, the altitude with respect to
sea level varies from between 870 and 1,043 meters (2,854–3,422 ft), with 900 meters (2,953 ft) in the historic zone. This, along with the rapid population growth, has profoundly influenced the
urban development of the city. The most elevated point of the Capital District, wherein the city is located, is the
Pico El Ávila, which rises to 2,159 meters (7,083 ft). The main body of water in Caracas is the Guaire river, which flows across the city and empties into the
Tuy river, which is also fed by the
El Valle and
San Pedro rivers, in addition to numerous streams which descend from El Ávila. The
La Mariposa and
Camatagua reservoirs provide water to the city.
Climate
Under the
Koppen climate classification, Caracas has a
Tropical savanna climate. Caracas is also intertropical, with precipitation that varies between 900 and 1,300 millimeters (35–51 in) (annual), in the city proper, and up to 2,000 millimeters (79 in) in some parts of the Mountain range. While Caracas is within the tropics, due to its altitude temperatures are generally not nearly as high as other tropical locations at sea level. The annual average temperature is approximately 21.2°C (70°F), with the average of the coldest month (January) 19°C (66°F) and the average of the warmest month (May) 22°C (72°F), which gives little annual thermal amplitude, of 3°C. In the months of December and January abundant fog may appear, in addition to a sudden nightly drop in temperature, until reaching
07 °C (45 °F) or less. This peculiar weather is known by the natives of Caracas as the
Pacheco. In addition, nightly temperatures at any time of the year usually do not remain above
20 °C (68 °F), which results in very pleasant evening temperatures. Hail storms appear in Caracas, although only on rare occasions.
Electrical storms are much more frequent, especially between June and October, due to the city being in a closed valley and the orographic action of
Cerro El Ávila.
Demographics
The population of the Metropolitan District of Caracas is estimated at 3,196,514 as of (2008).
The
conurbation including the surrounding suburbs has an estimated population of 5 million as of (2008).
Main sights
thumb|right|200px| East Park.thumbnail|right|200px|[[Casa del Libertador (
Simón Bolívars birthplace)]]
thumbnail|right|200px|National Pantheon of Venezuelathumb|right|200px|Caracas Cathedralthumb|right|200px|Caracas from Altamirathumb|right|200px|Las Mercedes
commercial districtthumb|right|200px|Intersection between Francisco de Miranda and Libertador avenues, Chacao Municipalitythumb|200px|right|Caracas from El CalvarioFederal Capitol
The Federal Capitol occupies an entire city block, and, with its golden domes and neoclassical pediments, can seem even bigger. The building was commissioned by Antonio Guzmán Blanco in the 1870s, and is most famous for its Salón Elíptico, an oval hall with a mural-covered dome and walls lined with portraits of the country's great and good.East Park
The Caracas East Park (Parque del Este
, now officially Parque del Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda
) was designed by Brazilian architect Roberto Burle Marx. It is a green paradise in the middle of the city, and it contains a small zoo. A replica of the ship led by Francisco de Miranda, the Leander
, is being built in the southern part of the park. Before there used to exist a replica of the Santa Maria ship, used by Christopher Colombus in his voyages to America.Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex
The Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex (Complejo Cultural Teresa Carreño
), or more commonly the Teresa Carreño Theatre (Teatro Teresa Carreño
), is one of the most important Theaters of Caracas and Venezuela, where symphonic and popular concerts imagine frequently, operas, ballet and theatre.Simón Bolívar birthplace house
Skyscrapers may loom overhead, but there is more than a hint of original colonial flavour in this neatly proportioned reconstruction of the house where Simón Bolívar was born on July 24, 1783. The museum's exhibits include period weapons, banners and uniforms.
Much of the original colonial interior has been replaced by monumental paintings of battle scenes, but more personal relics can be seen in the nearby Museo Bolivariano. Pride of place goes to the coffin in which Bolívar's remains were brought from Colombia; his ashes now rest in the National Pantheon. National Pantheon
Venezuela's most venerated building is five blocks north of Plaza Bolívar, on the northern edge of the old town. Formerly a church, the building was given its new purpose as the final resting place for eminent Venezuelans by Antonio Guzmán Blanco in 1874.Parque Central Complex
At a short distance east of Plaza Bolívar is Parque Central, a concrete complex of five high-rise residential slabs of somewhat apocalyptic-appearing architecture, crowned by two 56-storey octagonal towers, one of them is under repair due to the fire which burnt the building on October 17, 2004.
Parque Central is Caracas' art and culture hub, with museums, cinemas, the Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex, and the Caracas Athenaeum, home to the esteemed Rajatabla theatre company. The Mirador de la Torre Oeste, on the 52nd floor, gives a 360° bird's-eye view of the city.Plazas
Plaza Bolívar
is the focus of the old town with the monument to El Libertador
, Simon Bolívar, at its heart. Modern high-rise buildings have overpowered much of the colonial flavor of Caracas' founding neighbourhood.Plaza Venezuela
is the geographic center of Caracas. It is a large urban plaza at the entrance of the Central University of Venezuela. Kinetic artists have displayed their works there, including Carlos Cruz-Diez, Alejandro Otero and Jesus Soto. East of the Plaza is the Plaza Venezuela Fountain, a large computerized display of water, music and colored light refurbished in 2008 to include the latest available technology.Plaza Caracas
was constructed in 1983. It is in the Simón Bolívar Center, at the foot of the 30-story towers, dominating El Silencio
District and forming a unique testimony to the early days of the modernisation of the city. It has various levels for pedestrian and motorised traffic, and contains the business, shops, restaurants, services of a zone in which are concentrated public and private institutions.El Hatillo
El Hatillo is a colonial town located at the south-east suburbs of Caracas in the municipal area of the same name. This small town, which is one of Venezuela's few well-preserved typical colonial areas, gives an idea of what Caracas was like in centuries past.Cerro El Ávila
Cerro El Ávila
(Mountain El Ávila
) (Wuaraira Repano), is a mountain in the mid-North of Venezuela. It rises next to Caracas and separates the city from the Caribbean Sea. It is considered the lung of Caracas due to the fact that there is a lot of vegetation on it.Las Mercedes
This zone contains restaurants with varied gastronomical specialties, along with pubs, bars, pools and art galleries.Altamira neighborhood
Altamira is a neighborhood located in the Chacao municipality of Caracas, it has its own Metro Station, many hotels and restaurants, and is an important city business centre , the Francisco de Miranda avenue (a major avenue in Caracas) and the Distibuidor Altamira (a congested highway exit) are both located in Altamira.Religious buildings
Caracas contains a number religious buildings, first among them, the Caracas Cathedral. Situated on the northeast corner of the Plaza Bolívar, it was founded in 1594. The parents of Simón Bolívar are buried there, besides its hand carved altars, it possesses works of art such as, The Resurrection
by Rubens, the Presentation of the Virgin
by Murillo, and the Last Supper
, an unfinished work by the Venezuelan painter Arturo Michelena.
The Iglesia de San Francisco is of historical value. Bolívar's funeral was held here twelve years after his death. Here he was proclaimed Libertador in 1813 by the people of Caracas. The church has gilded baroque altarpieces, and retains much of its original colonial interior, despite being given a treatment in the 19th century under the auspices of Antonio Guzmán Blanco, which was intended to be modernizing. It contains some 17th century masterpieces of art, carvings, sculptures and oil paintings. The Central University of Venezuela, established during the reign of Philip V, was lodged for centuries in the church cloisters next door, which today are the seat of the Language Academy, and the Academies of History, Physics, and Mathematics.
The Mosque of Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Ibrahim is the second largest mosque in Latin America. For many years it was the biggest.Colleges, universities and international schools
Central University of Venezuela
The Central University of Venezuela (Universidad Central de Venezuela
in Spanish) is a public University. Founded in 1721, it is the oldest university in Venezuela and one of the first in Latin America. The university campus was designed by architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva and it was declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 2000. The Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas, as the main Campus is also known, is considered a masterpiece of architecture and urban planning and it is the only university campus designed in the 20th century that has received such recognition by UNESCO.
thumb|right|200px|Central University of Venezuela.right|thumb|200px|Laberinto Cromovegetal
, at the Simón Bolívar University.Simón Bolívar University
The Simón Bolívar University (Universidad Simón Bolívar, in Spanish, or USB) is a public institution located in Caracas, Venezuela with scientific and technological orientation. Its motto is "La Universidad de la Excelencia"
("University of Excellence"). Both nationally and globally, Simón Bolívar University is a well-known school with a high reputation in scientific and engineering careers.Other universities
International schools
Sports
thumb|right|170px|[[Central University of Venezuela|UCV Baseball Stadium.]]
170px|thumb|right|[[Estadio Olímpico (Caracas)|UCV Olympic Stadium.]]
170px|thumb|right|Brigido Iriarte soccer stadium.
There are professional Football, baseball and several other sports.
Professional teams include Deportivo Italia, Caracas Fútbol Club, Estrella Roja FC. Deportivo Italia and Caracas Futbol Club. Several have won international tournaments (Copa Libertadores de America).
Baseball teams Tiburones de La Guaira and Leones del Caracas play in the Estadio Universitario de la UCV
, of the Central University of Venezuela, with a capacity of 26,000 spectators.
Another baseball team started in Caracas: the Navegantes del Magallanes. It was moved to Valencia, Carabobo.
Soccer stadiums include:
Campo Deportivo Cocodrilos
.- Cocodrilos de Caracas plays in the Venezuelan professional basketball league. They play their games in the "Gimansio José Beracasa" in the neighbourhood of El Paraíso.
Caracas is the seat of the National Institute of Sports and of the Venezuelan Olympic Committee.
Caracas hosted the 1983 Pan American Games.Teams
Culture
Caracas is Venezuela's cultural capital, boasting many restaurants, theaters, museums, and shopping centers. The city is also home to an array of immigrants from but not limited to: Spain, Italy, Portugal, the Middle East, Germany, China, and Latin American countries. The city has the reputation as being one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Museums, libraries and cultural centres
Caracas, has been a city with great cultural aspirations throughout the course of its history. Institutions such as the old Atheneum bear witness to this awareness. The National library holds a great amount of volumes, and affords abundant bibliographic information for the student of the discovery and independence of Venezuela. The museum of Colonial Art has on show an interesting exhibition of Venezuelan art from the periods previous to its independence with fountains, furniture, colonial courtyards etc. In the Fine Arts Museum are kept some archaeological finds with some good examples of precolombine pottery.
Since 1974, Caracas has had a Contemporary Art Museum, containing works representing the most important tendencies in contemporary art, and since 1982, counts with a Children's Museum, a privately managed museum foundation, with the purpose of teaching children about science, technology, culture and arts. The Natural Science Museum, has a rich collection os archaeological pieces from the primitive native cultures, in these collections and in other no less important galleries (Raúl Santana Creole Museum, Transport Museum, the Coin Museum, Bolivarian Museum, Jacobo Borges Museum, Carlos Cruz-Diez Museum, Alejandro Otero Museum, Sacred Museum, etc.) the cultural aspirations of Caracas are more than evident.
Gastronomy
Caracas has a gastronomical heritage due to the influence of immigrants, leading to a choice of regional and international cuisine. There is a variety of international restaurants including
French,
Italian,
Spanish,
Indian,
Chinese,
Japanese, and
Mexican. The district of La Candelaria
contains Spanish restaurants, resulting from Galician and Canarian immigrants that came to this area in the mid-20th cNotable natives
thumb|right|200px|Federal Capitolthumb|right|200px|Plaza Francia at the Chacao Municipality
Caracas has been the birthplace of many politicians and artists that notably shaped the country's history and culture:
Transportation
thumbnail|right|200px|Inside Plaza Venezuela station of the Caracas Metrothumbnail|right|200px|Boyacá Avenue (Cota Mil
)thumb|right|200px|Los Conductores del País
mural, at the Francisco Fajardo Highwaythumb|right|200px|National Library of Venezuelathumb|right|200px|St. Peter´s Church- The Caracas Metro has been in operation since 1981. With 4 lines and more than 50 stations, it covers a great part of the city, it also has an integrated ticket system, that combines the route of the
Metro
with those offered by the Metrobús
, a bus service of the Caracas Metro.- Buses are the main means of mass transportation. There are two bus systems: the traditional system and the
Metrobús
. The traditional system runs a variety of bus types, operated by several companies on normal streets and avenues:- * Camioneta; medium size buses.
- * microbus or camionetica; vans or minivans.
- IFE; train services to and from Tuy Valley cities of Charallave and Cúa.
- In March 2009 four of the five Caracas districts launched
Plan Vía Libre
to reduce traffic (the pro-Chavez Jorge Rodríguez' Libertador District is currently not cooperating as the other districts are in the hands of the opposition). On each weekday, cars with certain number plates are banned from entering key parts of the city centre; the numbers rotate so that any particular car is banned one day a week.International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Caracas is twinned with: Districts
See also
