VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
The city of Caracas was founded in 1567 by Spanish conquistador Diego de Losada, on the site of a Caracas Indian settlement.
There are several theories explaining the origin of the city's name. According to one such theory, the Indian word Caracas means ‘valley of the singing birds.' Another theory holds that Caracas is a local tree species.
Caracas served as the seat of Spanish governors beginning in 1577, and the capital of the Captaincy General of Venezuela beginning in 1777. In 1830, Caracas became the capital of sovereign Venezuela after it seceded from Gran Colombia.
The city is located in 14 kilometres from the coast, at an average altitude of 900 to 1,000 metres above sea level in the Chacao Valley of the Caribbean Andes. The city borders the Cordillera del Litoral National Park to the north. The tallest peaks are Pico Naiguata (2,640 metres) and Pico Avila (2,160 metres).
Northern and western Caracas is located in the Federal District and the rest in the state of Miranda. The city is administered by a mayor, who is elected for a five-year term. The population is six million.
The city enjoys a well developed transport system. The first line of the city's subway system, built with French assistance, was opened in January 1983. The system now has three lines and has a total length of 40 kilometres.
Caracas's main transport arteries are the motor roads and multi-level interchanges that crisscross the city.
The major cargo port of La Guaira and the Simon Bolivar Airport, which has international and domestic terminals, are located in the Federal District.
Caracas is a major national cultural and scientific centre. The main institutes of higher education are Central University of Venezuela (established 1725), the Simon Bolivar University (established 1970) and the Bolivarian University of Venezuela (established 2003), all of which are public schools. The private Jesuit Catholic University of Andres Bello was founded in 1953.
Major museums in the city include the Colonial Art Museum, the Natural Sciences Museum and the Simon Bolivar Museum.
Some of Caracas's most famous tourist attractions include:
Bolivar Square, which is located at the centre of the old colonial-era city. The square was built in 1567 under the city's founder, Diego de Losada, and reconstructed in 1874, when a statue of the hero of Latin American independence Simon Bolivar on horseback was placed there.
The National Capitol was built in 1872, under President Antonio Guzman Blanco. The Capitol initially served as the workplace of the Venezuelan cabinet of ministers, and later the Supreme Court and National Congress.
The city's oldest functioning church is Caracas Cathedral, which was seriously damaged in an earthquake in June 11, 1641 and subsequently reconstructed. The parents of Simon Bolivar are currently interred here.
The Casa Amarilla is located at the site of the former royal prison of Caracas. A residence of Venezuela's presidents since 1846, it is currently home to the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry.
The Simon Bolivar House-Museum was the home of the Bolivar family for several generations and is also the birthplace of the "Father of the Venezuelan Nation" and the "Liberator of Latin America."
The Miraflores Presidential Palace is the official residence of the President of Venezuela.
The National Pantheon is where Simon Bolivar is interred.
The Quinta Anauco (Museum of Colonial Arts), located in a typical Colonial building from 1797, features artefacts and household items dating back to the late 18th century and the early 19th century.
The funicular in El Avila National Park takes passengers to an altitude of more than 2,000 m above sea level.
