Tarija

Tarija (San Bernardo de Tarija ) is the southernmost city in the South American Andes State of Bolivia. The city was founded on July 4, 1574 by Luis de Fuentes y Vargas named " Villa de San Bernardo de la Frontera de Tarixa ".

Location in near space

Tarija is the central place of the district ( bolivian: Municipio) Tarija and capital of the department of Tarija, which borders Argentina and eastern Paraguay. The city lies on the left, the eastern shore of the Río Nuevo Guadalquivir, which carries 36 km below the city after the union with the Río Camacho the name Río Tarija.

Geography

Tarija is conveniently located between the different climate zones of the country, bordering the Andes at an altitude of around 1900 m, so that in most cases mild and pleasant weather prevails (see climate chart Tarija ). In the rainy season from December to February (summer months) there are often torrential thunderstorms. The rest of the year is extremely low precipitation.

Through the centuries of deforestation, the landscape is eroded and surrounded the city from a barren mountain range. At one time the area around Tarija was the granary of Bolivia. Today, the special richness of the region consists of natural gas.

Population

The population of the city has increased in the past three and a half decades to several times:

The residents of Tarija call themselves Chapacos or Tarijeños and are mostly white and mestizo. They are descendants of Andalusian colonizers and the Quechua -speaking Tomatas relatively light-skinned mestizos who speak Spanish and all are predominantly Catholic. In contrast to the other regions of Bolivia, the few thousand Chiriguanos, Toba and members of other indigenous peoples make up only a small minority of the population.

Business and education

The city is characterized by management and trade, relatively quiet and clean. In the surrounding farming is done mainly with sugar cane, fruit and viticulture are mentioned in particular. The wine and Singani production gained more and more importance in recent years. With advanced production equipment and continuously improved quality, the industry is facing in developing international markets. The roots of winemaking in Tarija lead back to the 16th century when Spanish missionaries planted the first vines.

Although there is little industry, Tarija is but one of the most modern cities of Bolivia, with many open-minded inhabitants, which are based on European lifestyle. New technologies such as the Internet are received with enthusiasm. The importance of education is rising, more and more young people get a degree at a university.

Tourism

For tourists Tarija has a lot to offer. The San Francisco Church was founded in 1606 and is one of the oldest in the department. A library with more than 15,000 volumes of high historical value and a colonial time Pinakothek are connected to the church. In the Metropolitan Cathedral, which was built in 1810 by the Jesuits, today is a public school and the Cathedral Museum with a collection of oil paintings, silver appliances and decorated with inlays of stone golden chalices. The San Roque church is the center for festivities. The elevated position of the Church, founded in 1632 San Juan allows a panoramic view of the entire city. Here the surrender of the Spaniards was announced after the Battle of La Tablada on 15 April 1817. The Casa Dorada serves as a house of culture and has a façade, at the upper part statuettes are seen. Inside there was an atrium with statuettes of triumphant women.

In the Museum of Paleontology, archeology and history exhibits are on display from prehistoric times, including finds of dinosaur species. Approximately 500 existing pieces can be assigned to mammals, are from the Quaternary (geology) and were found in the cave of Tarija. 200 fossils of invertebrates are from the Paleocene. About 5,000 stone and ceramic pieces, such as spears, arrowheads, jars, pots and trinkets, are located in the archaeological department.

Near the town is the Observatory of the Academy of Sciences. In the evening there is the population accessible for planetary, lunar and stargazing. In celestial phenomena, such as the flyby of a comet, scientists from all over the world come here to make an observation with the aid of modern telescopes.

The cultural wealth of the region is evident in the colorful festivals, the special instruments and dances (eg Chacarera ). Culinary the various corn dishes ( choclos ) and peanut soup are ( sopa de mani ) to call.

Traffic network

By Tarija runs a branch of the Inter-American Thruway system Panamericana that connects Alaska in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south of the continent. This branch is the Bolivian highway Ruta 1, which runs from Desaguadero to the Peruvian border in the north to the cities of El Alto / La Paz, Oruro, Potosí and Tarija Bermejo up on the Argentine border in the south.

About the highway Ruta 11 Tarija is also connected to the Bolivian lowlands, where it meets the Ruta 9, which cuts through the entire lowlands of Yacuíba in the south of the city of Santa Cruz until after Guayaramerín on the Brazilian border in the north.

Sons and daughters of the town

• Víctor Paz Estenssoro, Bolivian politician and President of Bolivia

Twinning

• Salta, Argentina, since March 8, 2004
• San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina, since March 8, 2004