Gachancipá

Gachancipá
Municipality and town
Central square
Flag Seal
Location of the municipality and town inside Cundinamarca department of Colombia
Gachancipá Location in Colombia
Coordinates: 4°59′27″N 73°52′23″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	43.06 km2 (16.63 sq mi)
• Urban	1.03 km2 (0.40 sq mi)
Elevation	2,568 m (8,425 ft)
Population  (2018 census)
• Municipality and town	17,026
• Density	400/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
• Urban	11,252
• Urban density	11,000/km2 (28,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Colombia Standard Time)
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 Tocancipá in the south, Sesquilé and Guatavita in the east, Nemocón in the west and Suesca in the north.

Etymology

The name Gachancipá comes from Chibcha and means "Pottery of the zipa".

History

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.

Economy

The economy of Gachancipá traditionally was centered around agriculture and livestock farming. In recent years flowers are cultivated in the municipality.

Gallery

• 
  Church of Gachancipá
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  Church
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  Monument to the indigenous people