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Founding
Founding of San Cristóbal
city in Venezuela
- 1561
- South America
Founding
city in Venezuela
Fetching the article from Wikipedia…
San Cristóbal (Spanish pronunciation: [saŋ kɾisˈtoβal]) is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of Táchira. It is located in a mountainous region of Western Venezuela. The city is situated 818 metres (2,684 ft) above sea level in the northern Andes overlooking the Torbes River, 56 kilometres (35 mi) from the Colombian border. San Cristóbal was founded on 31 March 1561, by Juan de Maldonado. From its inception, the city evolved rapidly as one of the most progressive and important centers of commerce in the country and the region, due primarily to its rich soil and its proximity to the border with Colombia.
The city was severely damaged by the Earthquake of Cúcuta (also known as Earthquake of the Andes) in 1875.
San Cristobal has a large student population. There are many post-secondary schools, both public and private, in San Cristobal. The main higher education facilities are:
San Cristóbal has one municipality: San Cristóbal Municipality, Venezuelan law specifies that municipal governments have four main functions: executive, legislative, comptroller, and planning. The executive function is managed by the mayor, who is in charge of representing the municipality's administration. The legislative branch is represented by the Municipal Council, composed of seven councillors, charged with the deliberation of new decrees and local laws. The comptroller tasks are managed by the municipal comptroller's office, which oversees accountancy. Finally, planning is represented by the Local Public Planning Council, which manages development projects for the municipality.
San Cristobal is the capital of the Tachira State. As throughout the Andean states, the people of Táchira are characterized as hardworking, cordial, conservative, and devoted to their historical, religious, and folkloric traditions. The primary industries here are centered around agriculture, mainly the production of coffee, sugar, and vegetables. Other important industrial sectors which have helped fuel the economic engines of the region include meat production (cattle), manufacturing industries like shoe, basket, and ceramics production. A fact that perhaps is not widely known is that it was in Táchira State, and not in Zulia State, that the first oil wells were excavated in 1875 (located in the Petrolea sector close to Rubio)-- a procedure done in those days by hand and with buckets. It is a commercial, transportation, and industrial center. Textiles, leather products, cement, and tobacco are produced, and coffee, sugar, pineapples, and corn are exported. The service sector is also strong. There are many branches of national banks located in the city, and it is the headquarters of an important financial institutions Sofitasa (bank of private investment). This bank is an important economic engine of the local economy because they help to finance many project in the region. In the dairy industry, Leche Táchira is one of the most consolidated industries in the country; this company is based in San Cristobal.
Deportivo Táchira Fútbol Club, usually known as Deportivo Táchira, is a football club located in San Cristóbal.
San Cristóbal's architecture is rich and varied. The wedding cake and modernist architectural styles are particularly evident in the façades of the Universidad Nacional Abierta and La Casa Antigua, a Spanish style building with various ornaments and sculptures. Another example is La Entrada Central, the only façade that's left from the old Hospital Vargas. Among the most notable churches are La Iglesia El Angel, the Gothic styled church San José, and the El Santuario Church.
There are three airports that serve Táchira State and its capital San Cristobal. Juan Vicente Gómez International Airport of San Antonio, Mayor Buenaventura Vivas Airport of Santo Domingo del Táchira and La Fría Airport of La Fria. There is a bus terminal located just below the La Concordia neighborhood of San Cristóbal where buses, taxis, and other vehicles arrive and depart daily.
Feria Internacional de San Sebastian. the San Sebastian fair is the largest fair in the country. It takes place at the end of each January. There is animal, agricultural, industrial and commercial trade.
San Cristóbal is twinned with the following cities and municipalities:
Text from the Wikipedia article “San Cristóbal, Táchira”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.