It does around seven thousand years; the first settlers began to locate building the first villages, dedicated mainly to the harvesting of seashells. This town of Indians disappeared during the Spanish conquest.
Around 1629, the Indians were seen obliged to emigrate with its cattle did the river Maria de la Magdalena due to a great drought... Then they earned by instinct, sought the routes of the water and the pasture.
First they occupied the called place “Sabanitas of Camacho”. The men resolved to pass there the summer next to its animals, they armed ranchos and they were organized front al I laugh; in its to advance, the Maia de la Magdalena had gone forming some empty land and the habia gone puliendo. It did those playones was emigrating slowly the cattle, would be able to be told that al corresponds today sector of the flowers, siape and other outskirts of the Way 40; were raised new huts and other they were distributed for different parts of the empty land. This movement offered better conditions for the development of the activities cattle raisers.
The villages continued growing, al margin of the trade of the Spanish empire, al side of the powerful Cartagena and Santa Marta. In this same period received an impulse on behalf of Mr. Nicolas Of Clays, who sent to build a bovedas for its cattle, activity that invigorated the economic life of the settlement, al that began to call Gullies of San Nicolas and subsequently him was given the final name of Barranquilla.
Besides it was conditioned as point of shipment, taking quickly forces, since received the traffic that came from Holy Marta al the same as the overseas contraband. In this manner went conforming around the maritime and river activities. Approximately, April 7, 1813, the governor of the State of Cartagena, Manuel Rodriguez Torices, itself transfer to Barranquilla elevating it to the category of “Village”, what equals to province at present, being becoming capital of the windward department and Tierradentro (Today Department of the Atlantic one). Ace Barranquilla you award a grant they go important port it also served ace to haven for immigrants from both Europe and The Middle East.
Ace to consequence of the establish of the river navigation in the middle of the 19th century, begins the commercial take off of the village. With teh European and the Asian migration, came to our city the architectural concepts of the Old World.The village appearance changed offering to the country the process of development in the institutional and urban areas in Colombia. But after this five years of oppression they come and injustices.
Barranquilla remains in the hands of the Spanish oppressors that do of the city a town ghost, by the killings and violations that constantly were produced between the Spanish army and the citizens. Alone until 1819 the Liberator Simón Bolívar takes again to be able and takes charge of attacking the Spaniards in Cartagena, Holy Marta and of course in Barranquilla. Now with greater autonomy and a free nation of the Spanish commands, the Village of Barranquilla manages to have as its first Mayor to Augustine Of The Valley in 1821 and was with the one that was adapted the old headquarters like first building of the city hall (now building of the Bank Agrarian Box), located in the Walk Bolívar. In October of 1857, Barranquilla is elevated to the category of City and in that same year the Municipal Council demarcated three zones: lower Neighborhood, Neighborhood from above the River and the Center. It is in that epoch in which the city acquires greater political importance by its commercial boom and by its strategic geographical position, being becoming the first port maritime and river of Colombia. In 1908, already Barranquilla was the second more important city of the country, by its rapid demographic, social, and economic development.
In 1909 Barranquilla should be incorporated administratively al Department Cartagena as a province more, this carried to many protests, but after a not very long time the Department of the Atlantic one with territorial enlargement was created again, that went from Mouths of Ashes to the Hill of San Antonio. Barranquilla would be again the capital. For those times the mayors of Barranquilla were dedicated to carry out smaller works as the restructuring of the Plaza of San Nicolas, the bridge Kings, that communicated the Pipe of the Market with the sector of Barranquillita and other of little importance, but this was owed al low budget with which counted the Administration. In spite of this difficulty, Barranquilla included large works as, the Trolley, the spring of Port Colombia, the Hidropuerto of Veranillo, the National Customs, the Municipal Public Businesses and the Radiodifusora Commercial.
Toward the years 40 of the present century the city Hall of Barranquilla is transferred to the street of the Commerce, in which now we know as the street 36 with the career 44. For the year 1957 Barranquilla suffers a massive invasion for more than 300 people originating from adjoining towns that were located in the jardin botanical, today known as neighborhood The Forest. During the following years, the life of the city has elapsed with relative normality as for law and order, but not thus in their public utilities that were seen seriously deteriorated, among others causes by the lack of leadership and the administrative and political corruption that delayed the development of the metropolis.
Barranquilla is, given its competitive and comparative advantages, the epicenter of the internalization of the economy. The city favored by its river, maritime, and harbor vocation, with extensive facilities in matter of communications, offers a various commerce that permits the visitors to acquire articles of all the ranges. Is one of the cities with greater strategic value as platform toward the markets of the Caribbean sea Mexico, United States and other countries of America. Its harbor zone is connected with more than a hundred ports of importance on a worldwide basis. Its modern infrastructure offers to the exporters and importers an area of a lot more extensive storage and less costly than that of the neighboring ports. Barranquilla is headquarters of important factories of beverages, agricultural products, metalurgia, and Chemical substances for the industry.
In 1849 the Customs in the city was installed of Barranquilla, like indication of the importance that had gone acquiring the city as port of export and importing. The creation of a capable port to permit the access of cargo boats and trasatlánticos (Mouths of Ash), converted to the city in the great door of Colombia and of the Caribbean and in the third most important one economically of the country. Besides it was established on the river, the first air port of the country and in 1922 was founded the colombo-German company Scadta, pioneering in Latin America.
In 1915 a fire destroyed the building where its installations functioned, given its importance, the government gave the order to build a new building. The administrative one Diógenes Kings, predetermined the conditions of the construction, that should be done "in Roman cement and iron" and to be situated set against the station Montoya, that communicated the city of Barranquilla with the spring of Port Colombia
The architects Arturo Jaramillo and Alberto Manrique, they proposed al groins Leslie Arbouin and al architect Nicolas Samer that did a joint project, in which the diverse annotations on facade kept in mind themselves, dimensions of ventanería and utilization of the interior space.
The main facade that looks to the city marked one of the moments of greater quality achieved in the neoclassical architecture in Colombia by its elegance and sobriety.
It was restored culminating the works in 1994. From its opening him was given a new use to its installations. There the Pilot Library of the Caribbean functions, the Historic File of the Atlantic one, the Museum of Modern Art, the Center of Musical Documentation Hnas Federico Neumann and the administrative offices of important companies of the city.
With the need to be able to include a middle of transportation that will guarantee the fastest connection among Sabanilla (where operated the natural maritime quay) and the metropolis, thinks itself about the possibility of the call subsequently Railroad of Bolívar. And as all the activities of transportation were developing in which subsequently was known like the Plaza Elbers (in honor al legendary river navigator Mr. Francisco Montoya), is decided to build in 1871 the Station Montoya.
May 4, 1865, the Constituent Convention of the State of Bolívar, presided by Mr. Francisco of Paula Ribón and Mr. Manuel Urueta, requested a law that authorized al Government for the construction of "a served iron rails road by steam engines that put in communication the city of Barranquilla with the port of Sabanilla". The law was sanctioned by the president of the State of Bolívar, Amador Iron, and August 25, 1865 was offered the contract to the gentlemen Ramón B. Jimeno and Ramón Santodomingo Despicable, who, at the same time, they transferred it to the German house Hoenigsberg Wessels & Hip.
The historian Theodore E. Nicholls, in one of its articles written in 1954, in which refers al boom in the three last decades of the 19th century, determinant in the development of the city of Barranquilla says: "The factor that really guaranteed the commercial supremacy of Barranquilla-Sabanilla was the railroad that united them. Its main section was built to ends of the decade of 1860, with immediate commercial results. The railroad did of Barranquilla-Sabanilla the queen of the importings and exports of the Caribbean coast. ..".
September 20, 1871 the Station was inaugurated Montoya, built by the Railway and Pier Company, that acquired the line Barranquilla-Salgar, in 1887, to extend then its networks to a new port on the bay of Sabanilla, known like Port Cupino and baptized then as Port Colombia, where in 1893 the port built was inaugurated in concrete and steel.
Little by little, due to multiple causes, the splendor of the railroad was losing hegemony and the boom of the self-propelled transportation was consolidated with the layout and subsequent construction of the highway to Port Colombia in 1932. June 30, 1940 the service of the railroad to Port was suspended Colombia and the Station Montoya was destined for alien uses, like office of traffic, public school and boneyard, what caused him serious damages al building. Currently, through an exhaustive restoration, intends to return its aspect and importance and to rescue part of the hereditary and urban memory of the city of Barranquilla, called during the decades of its glorious past as the Colombia golden gate..
In 1974, with the construction of the bridge on the river Maria de la Magdalena between the island Salamanca and the city of Barranquilla was permitted to integrate the road network of the Colombian Caribbean.
The Pumarejo bridge, in honor of its political agent, Alberto Pumarejo, was designed by the Italian professor Ricardo Dwelling. The length of edge to edge is of 1500 meters and including the ways of access 3.383 meters long. The bridge maintains itself on 56 columns that form 29 sections of lights in prefabricated beams of 47 meters, the wide one of it worn is of 12.5 meters and the maximum height on the level of the water of navigation is of 16 meters.
July 1, 1970, during the government of the president Carlos Lleras Restrepo, the contract by value of $143'200.000 signs itself and a time limit of 30 months with the consortium formed by Cuéllar, Mountain, Gómez, Ltd. and the business of Italian engineers Lodigrani INC. It was inaugurated April 6, 1974 by the president Misael Pastrana Borrero and from this date changed for always the landscape of the river Mary magdalene.
In 1893, the first one is inaugurated great soft built in steel, iron and wood, built by a viaduct of 720 meters of long that reaches a depth of port from 40 to 45 feet according to the tide and whose spring of mooring has a length of 180 meters and a wide one of 15 meters. Al to be converted this in the main port of entrance and exit of the country and before the expectation of opening of the Panama Canal that would increase still more the traffic, is decided to carry out the enlargement of the spring. In 1912 al arrives country a commission of English engineers hired to carry out the project of enlargement, in 1913 start to the works in charge of the engineers is given Joe Mathews, Clímaco Village and its assistant Juan Antonio Hill of the Rose, and finally, the new spring expanded and built in concrete reinforced is inaugurated in 1923, passing to be the third more long spring of the world, Of the English springs of South End and Southport. From 1924, alone a year despues of inaugurated the great work, before the eagerness of the barranquilleros by converting to their city in river and maritime port, the Ash Mouths dredges are taken up again, work that, just as the engineer had predicted it Cisneros, is translated in a tragedy for the coasts and the nearby bays: as a result of them dredged desparecen the stripes of land that did Of the bays of Port Salgar and Port Colombia excellent natural anchorages protected of the winds and the waves of altamar, al time that the coast is seen invaded of sediment being moved away each time more than the sea.
The ships of great penetrated, nevertheless, they continue utilizing the spring of Port Colombia by being the best and surer anchorage in spite of the political interests that insist on the Ash Mouths convenience, before this situation, in 1943, the government prohibits the mooring in the spring and arranges to raise the parallels to leave Port Colombia in the deepest abandonment, incommunicado with the neighboring city of Barranquilla.
The strong acquaintance of San Antonio of Salgar, located in which today Port is called Colombia and previously Port of Sabanilla comes to be the architectural only testimony that still conserves characteristics of the colonial architecture, near the estuary of the River Mary magdalene, the inlet of the small settlement was found of sabanilla that from time to time servia of anchorage to the ships and embarkations that approached its. Its strategic location was an ideal place for the introduction of contraband, utilizing the River Mary magdalene as way of access al interior of the country. That it is why with the step of the years came be converted in an I prosper port.
Experts of the situation, the Spanish authorities with seat in Cartagena, they ordered the construction of a fort on the called hill of San Antonio near the settlement of sabanilla, since which could be made out the embarkations that intended to dock in that zone or to mend the River Mary magdalene. This fort of the one that still traces in the small town exist of Salgar, in its epoch was known with the name of Barbaric Saint or San Antonio.
To ends of the 18th century, the fort of Barbaric Saint was relatively abandoned but once the fight of independence exploded acquired again importance with regard to its valuable strategic location. It was as well as in August of 1816, after the reconquest of Cartagena by the troops of Andiron, the governor of said plaza, Gabriel of Towers and Velasco gave precise orders to maintain in permanent service the fort. The expedition was entrusted José Catalonian.
Subsequently, in the republican phase owed al increment of the contraband that entered al country, evading the ports of Cartagena and Holy Marta, is ordered in 1850 the construction of a customs in this place, that served subsequently as intermediate station of the railroad of Bolívar, in 1877.
Company that works for offering to the native animal species and exotic an adequate habitat for its preservation. It promotes educational processes with emphasis on the conservation of the ecology and the environment. They are 550 animals of 140 species, some of them under extinction; as the eagle, the condor, the flamencos, the manatee and the bear of eyeglasses; as well as loudmouths, lions, chimpanzees, reptilian, bats and the tití cute cabeciblanco, species that alone is found in Colombia in the white forests of the department of the Atlantic one. Besides, has a farm so that the children have direct contact with the animals and a creative park.
Located in the limits from the neighborhood The Field with the down the neighborhood of the river. In their modern precinct plays they are presented, expositions of painting, musical spectacles and events of all types during all the year. The curtain of mouth of the theater of 17 mts. of wide for 8 of high, was painted by Alejandro Obregón, represented with vibrant colors the legend of the man cayman. Museum Romantico
An old mansion of republican style donated by Carmen Freund, where they are kept like memories of hobbies, objects of the history of the city.
There they are, like testimony of an epoch, the disguises of the queen of the carnival, a replica of the old street called Ridge Abello, the typewriter of Alfonso Fuenmayor in which the Nobel prize Gabriel Garcia Márquez wrote its novel The Leafage, some letters of the liberator Simón Bolívar, photographs, disks and collections of newspapers of long ago.
The majestic metropolitan stadium was inaugurated May 11, 1986, is considered as one of the architectural but important works of South America. Its name is Roberto "the Thin one" Meléndez, in homage to one of the large values of the soccer Barranquillero. This it located in the south one West of the city, by their gramado have paraded figures of the size of Maradona, Francescoli, Batistuta, and the pibe Valderrama among others.
