Tunja
Tunja
(to͞on`hä), city (1993 pop. 101,622), capital of Boyacá dept., central Colombia, on the Pan-American Highway. It is a commercial center and distribution point for the products of the region (coal, gold, emeralds, mineral water, and agricultural products) and for the cattle of the eastern llanos. Tunja was founded in 1539. It declared its independence from Spain in 1811 and shortly thereafter served as Simón BolívarBolívar, Simón, 1783–1830, South American revolutionary who led independence wars in the present nations of Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
..... Click the link for more information. 's staging point for the victory at BoyacáBoyacá
, town, Boyacá dept., N central Colombia, near Tunja. At Boyacá on Aug. 7, 1819, revolutionary forces under Simón Bolívar won the decisive engagement that assured the independence of present-day Colombia and Venezuela from Spain.
..... Click the link for more information. . The city retains many colonial buildings. It has a university.
Tunja
a city in Colombia, on the Pan-American Highway; capital of Boyacá Department. Population, 77,000 (1971). Tunja has a railroad station and enterprises of the textile industry. Emeralds and hard coal are mined in the vicinity.
The city, founded in 1539, has retained its rectangular layout and appearance from the colonial period. Architectural monuments include a Renaissance cathedral (1569–1600, architects P. de Sosa and B. Carrion), the monastery of Santo Domingo (1551, now with a museum of religious art), and the Chapel of Nuestra Señora del Rosario, which is decorated with rich carved ornamentation. There are also numerous 16th- and 17th-century houses with galleries in the inner courtyards, carved and paneled ceilings, and portals in the plateresque and Herreran styles.