BOLIVAR SQUARE

Bolívar's square was during a lot of years encounter place for farmers, peasant and inhabitants of the city where they trade with fruits, vegetables, clothes and home articles.

In the middle of the pictures you can appreciate the old school of the country "El Colegio Mayor de San Bartolome", founded in 1604 for the religious order of the Jesuit.

In the center of the square is a statue in honor to Simón Bolívar built by the Italian artist Pietro Tenerani in the year of 1846.

COLOMBIA NATIONAL CAPITOL

All structure is made in cantería stone and the building construction took 80 years(1847-1926)to finish.

The author was Danish architect Thomas Reed until 1880, that same year, it recaptures the work Florentine Pietro Cantini up to 1908 and finally concludes the work the architect Alberto Manrique Martin.

The Congress of the Republic of Colombia is divided in two parts :

1- The Senate : Also called "High camera of the Congress".

It is compound for 102 Senators, which are chosen by popular vote for a period of four years.

2- Chamber of Representatives : It is also called " Low camera of the Congress".

It is composed by 166 Representatives, which are chosen by popular vote by a four year-old period.

The Congress of the Republic completes function are:

Constituent Function: To reform the Political Constitution by means of Legislative Acts.

Legislative Function: To elaborate, to interpret, to reform and to repeal the Laws and Codes in all the fields of the Legislation.

Function of Political Control: To require and to summon to Ministers and other authorities knowing accusations that are formulated against high officials of the State. The censorship motion and the observation motion can be some of the conclusions of the political responsibility.

Judicial Function: To judge the officials of the State exceptionally for political responsibility.

Electoral Function: To choose General Contralor of the Republic, Attorney general of the Nation, Magistrates of the Constitutional , Defender of the Town, Vice-president of the Republic when there is absolute lack.

Administrative Function: To establish the organization and operation of the Full Congress. The Senate and the Chamber of Representatives.

Function of Public Control: To summon any person to give declarations oral or written of facts related with the inquiries that the Commission ahead.

Protocol Function: To receive Chef of State or Governments of other Nations.

Address : Bolivar´s square. (Downtown)

Schedule : Monday to Friday 9:00 AM to 12:00 M and 2:00 PM At 5:00

Tel : (o57) (1) 3823000 / 3824000 / 3825000

Note : It is remembered to the public in general that to have access to the dependences in the Capitol or in the Building, an authorization should be written by the congress member to visit or by the headquarters main authority .

BOTERO MUSEUM

The Botero Museum is located in the heart of Candelaria neighborhood and it´s management by the most important library " Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango".

Fernando Botero is an sculptor and painter from Colombia, whose works has international recognition.

In the year 2000 Fernando Botero donates 123 works for the museum foundation in several forms and technique, from painting drawing and sculpture.

In the oriental side of the Museum they are exhibited 85 international works that embrace the artistic main movements of final of the XIX century, standing artists like Corot, Renoir, Bonnard, Dali, Chagall, Beckmann, Delvaux, Giacometti, Picasso, Miró, Bacon, among others.

Schedules:
Monday to Saturday 9:00 a.m. at 7:00 p.m.

Closed Tuesday.

Sundays and festival: 10:00 a.m. at 5:00 p.m.
The entrance is gratuitous

Address:

Calle 11 No.4-41, Bogotá - Downtown.

Telephone : (571) - 343 12 12

MONSERATTE HILL

Santuario Del Señor Caido de Monseratte is the complete name in spanish, and Monseratte also mean "Mounts in form of teeth".

It´s located to a heigth of 10.338 Feets. It´s founden in the year 1640.

Juan De Borja went the one who authorized to Pedro Solís De Valenzuela the permints to built in the hill a chapel in honor of Our Mrs. of Monserrate "Nuestra Señora De Monseratte", original of a mount of Spain, very near to Barcelona.

The work was finished in 1657, thanks to the collaboration of the population from Bogotá or in that time called "Santafereños", that with concerted effort and like penance raised material for the construction.

Inside you can find "El Cristo Caido" (The Fallen Christ), the popular tradition says that the image arrive by mistake at the sanctuary, but when they were going to pull it down, the image began to weigth extremely heavy, that´s the reason why they left it there.



From : MissParticipación

MAYOR´S OFFICE

The mayorship of Bogota is located in the western flank of Bolívar´s Square in front of the first church of Bogota “La Catedral Primada de Colombia”.

The Mayor will be chosen popularly for a four (4) year-old period, in the same date in that the councilmen are chosen, the mayor is not reelegible for the following period.

Bogota in addition to being the capital of the republic and also the capital of the Cundinamarca department, is the administrative center and politician of the country. The 1991 Constitution organized Bogota as a Capital District unitary and decentralized enjoying autonomy to make the management of the territorial organizations and interests.

The management of the Capital District are in charge of The Distrital Council, The Greater Mayor, The Local Administrator Boards (JAL), The local Mayors and other authorities and organizations that the Council to initiative of the Greater Mayor, creates and organizes(Ordinance 1421 of 1993).

At the present time 18 distric organizations of the Central Sector exist that depend directly on the Greater Mayor of Bogota. They are the 20 Local Mayorships of Bogota and for each one of them there is "Junta Local Administradora" (JAL) and 20 funds of local development.


Also Bogota makes part of almost 1,100 municipalities that are the base of the political-administrative division of the country. With this in mind the Capital can take action of the corresponding faculties:

1. The benefit of services of health, education and public services.

2. Administration resources.

3. Infrastructure development.

4. Improvement of the quality of life of the inhabitants.