Capital of Venezuela

Call it Caracas or officially, Santiago de Leon de Caracas (CCS), the largest city of Venezuela is the capital of Venezuela as well. With the Guair River flowing through, Caracas is also known as the cultural capital of Venezuela. Catedral is the center of the city which is located near Bolivar Square, and Plaza Venezuela in the Los Caobos area, are among the most important as well as a recognized place in the country. Caracas has an economy that is largely based on service where businesses include service companies, banks, and malls. There are some industrial activities that go on in the metropolitan area of the capital.

From a historical perspective, Caracas was founded in 1567. The country’s stock exchange and the Central University of Venezuela are located in the capital only. Also, most importantly, the country is governed by Caracas only, just like any other capital. The official language of the capital is Spanish. The Metropolitan District of the capital city includes the Venezuelan Capital District and four municipalities named, Miranda State including Chacao, Baruta, Sucre, and El Hatillo. The population of the capital city was around 2,939,000 by 2020. With Caracas being the cultural capital of the country as well, it has several restaurants, theaters, museums, and shopping centers.

The city also has several immigrants from different countries such as Spain, Italy, Portugal, the Middle East, Germany, China, etc. And in terms of sports, Caracas has many football clubs and Baseball teams. 

History of Caracas

As mentioned earlier, the Caracas was founded in 1567 by Spanish conquistador Diego de Losada. Later in 1577, the city had been the capital of the Spanish Empire’s Venezuela Province. However, the capital city had always been immune to attacks from pirates due to the coastal mountains of the Central Range. At one point in time, Caracas was the major producer of wheat and Spain was benefitting from it when they were buying it from the farmers. Farmers later discovered the value of selling Cacao beans and began selling to Mexican people, the business quickly grew and covered the Caribbean.

The earthquake of 1641 brought a major tragedy putting the city in decline that taking a toll on legal trading. After a lot of such disasters and changes in the ruling, the city is currently growing significantly both economically and culturally.

Geography of Caracas

Located entirely within a valley of the Venezuelan Central Range, Caracas is separated from the Caribbean coast by a distance of 15 kilometers from El Ávila National Park. In addition, the main source of water for the city is the Guaire River which flows through the city and joins the Tuy River. Notably, the city is prone to earthquakes.

Interestingly, due to its altitude, Caracas has a tropical savanna climate and subtropical climate zones. Here, the annual average temperature is 21.1 degrees Celsius with the coldest month January witnessing 19.6 degrees Celsius.

Government and Governance

Venezuela adopted a new constitution on March 8, 2000, and it was decided that the Metropolitan District of Caracas would be created. Along with it, some of the powers of Libertador, Chacao, Baruta, Sucre, and El Hatillo municipalities were given to Alcaldía Mayor, which is located in the center of Caracas.

Venezuela is a federal presidential republic with a total of 23 states that are further divided into 335.