Chiquinquirá is a town and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the

Western Boyacá Province The Western Boyacá Province is a province of the Colombian Department of Boyacá. The province is formed by 15 municipalities. The province hosts the western belt of the rich emerald deposits of Boyacá. Municipalities Briceño • Buena ...

. Located some 115 km north of Bogotá, Chiquinquirá is above sea level and has a yearly average temperature

Etymology

The name Chiquinquirá comes from

Chibcha The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan lan ...

and means "Place of swamps covered with fog".Etymology Chiquinquirá
- Excelsio.net

Geography and religion

Chiquinquirá is constituted by two zones: the urban zone or town which is formed by approximately 40 neighbourhoods between the strata 1 and 4, and the rural zone which is divided in 17 sub zones located around the city. It is home to the Basílica de Chiquinquirá, which houses the image of the Virgen de Chiquinquirá, the patroness saint of Colombia. Chiquinquirá is a major point of religious pilgrimage (source: Colombia Lonely Planet Guide, 2nd Edition, 1995).

History

The area of Chiquinquirá used to be inhabited by the

Muisca The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan langu ...

before the

Spanish conquest The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...

and Chiquinquirá was an important place in the Chiquinquirá Valley. It was ruled by an independent '' cacique'' within the Muisca Confederation. It was never properly founded as a municipality.Official website Chiquinquirá
/ref> In November, 1967, 81 people in Chiquinquirá, most of them children, were fatally poisoned and hundreds more became seriously ill after eating bread that had been made with flour that had been contaminated with a powdered insecticide. Murder charges would later be filed against a Bogotá truck driver who had delivered the flour and the owner of the bakery that had baked and sold the bread to local residents."Colombia Files Murder Charges in Poison Deaths", ''Star Tribune'' (Minneapolis, MN), December 10, 1967, p26B

Geology

The Chiquinquirá Sandstone is named after the town.

Gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiquinquira Municipalities of Boyacá Department Muisca Confederation Muysccubun