Gachancipá | |||
---|---|---|---|
Municipality and town | |||
Central square
|
|||
|
|||
Location of the municipality and town inside Cundinamarca department of Colombia |
|||
Location in Colombia | |||
Coordinates: 4°59′27″N 73°52′23″W / 4.99083°N 73.87306°WCoordinates: 4°59′27″N 73°52′23″W / 4.99083°N 73.87306°W | |||
Country | Colombia | ||
Department | Cundinamarca | ||
Province | Central Savanna Province | ||
Founded | 1 January 1612 | ||
Government | |||
• Mayor | José Joaquín Cubides Ariza (2016-2019) |
||
Area | |||
• Municipality and town | 44 km2 (17 sq mi) | ||
• Urban | 42.5086 km2 (16.4127 sq mi) | ||
Elevation | 2,568 m (8,425 ft) | ||
Population (2015) | |||
• Municipality and town | 14,442 | ||
• Density | 330/km2 (850/sq mi) | ||
• Urban | 8,365 | ||
Time zone | Colombia Standard Time (UTC-5) | ||
Website | Official website |
Gachancipá is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Central Savanna Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. The urban centre is located on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at 42 kilometres (26 mi) from the capital Bogotá. The municipality borders Guatavita and in the south, Sesquilé in the east, Zipaquirá in the west and Nemocón in the north.
The name Gachancipá comes from Chibcha and means "Pottery of the zipa".
The area of Gachancipá before the Spanish conquest was inhabited by the Muisca, organised in their loose Muisca Confederation. Gachancipá, as the name suggests, was ruled by the zipa based in Bacatá.
Modern Gachancipá was founded on January 1, 1612 but the founders are unknown.
In the late 18th century Muisca scholar José Domingo Duquesne was based in Gachancipá. A school in the town is named after him.
The economy of Gachancipá traditionally was centered around agriculture and farming. In recent years flowers are cultivated in the municipality.
Church of Gachancipá
Church
Monument to the indigenous people