The Puente de Boyacá (in English: Bridge of Boyacá) is a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

located 110 km east of

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

and 14 km west from

Tunja Tunja () is a municipality and city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2018 the municipality had a population of 172,548. It is the capital of B ...

in a valley, crossing the Teatinos River near the

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway is a vast network of roads that stretches about 30,000 kilometers (about 19,000 miles) from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, in the northernmost part of North America to Ushuaia, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America. I ...

. It was the site of the historic battle of August 7, 1819, known as the

Battle of Boyacá The Battle of Boyacá (1819), also known as the Battle of Boyacá Bridge was a decisive victory by a combined army of Venezuelan and New Granadan troops along with a British Legion led by General Simon Bolivar over the III Division of the Spa ...

, which granted independence to

New Granada New Granada may refer to various former national denominations for the present-day country of Colombia: *New Kingdom of Granada, from 1538 to 1717 *Viceroyalty of New Granada, from 1717 to 1810, re-established from 1816 to 1822 *United Provinces of ...

History

The bridge was built in the early 18th century over the Teatinos River.

Battle of Boyacá

During the

Colombian War of Independence The Colombian War of Independence began on July 20, 1810 when the Junta (Spanish American Independence), Junta de Santa Fe was formed in Bogotá, Santa Fe de Bogota, the capital of the Spanish Empire, Spanish colonial Viceroyalty of New Granad ...

, General

Simon Bolivar Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

led a campaign to liberate New Granada from the Spanish reconquest. In 1819, both revolutionary and royalist forces were racing towards Santa Fe, the capital, which was only defended by 400 Spanish troops. On the day of the battle, the III Division of the Spanish Expeditionary Army of Costa Firme, commanded by Spanish Colonel José Barreiro, set out on one of the last legs of their journey towards Santa Fe, which involved crossing the Teatinos River over the bridge. Bolivar's troops, commanded by General

Francisco de Paula Santander Francisco José de Paula Santander y Omaña (April 2, 1792 – May 6, 1840) was a Neogranadine military and political leader who served as Vice-President of Gran Colombia between 1819 and 1826, and was later elected by Congress as the President ...

were close, however, and were able to intercept the royalist forces. The Spanish advance force had crossed the bridge by the time the revolutionaries had caught up with them, which resulted in a battle of the vanguards over the bridge while the main forces engaged nearby. Following a crossing of the bridge to attack the Spanish, the result of the battle was a decisive victory for Santander; 1800 Spanish prisoners along with the Spanish commander were captured. Within days, Viceroy Juan de Samano was informed of Barreiro's defeat and prepared a hasty escape from Santa Fe, enabling Bolivar's forces to take the capital with no resistance. This marked a major milestone in independence from Spain.

Post-independence

The bridge was dedicated a

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

and Memorial of Independence in 1920. In 1939, the bridge was rebuilt in stone to commemorate the anniversary of the founding of

Commemorative monuments

Near the bridge are located the following secondary monuments: * The Von Miller Monument (for German sculptor Ferdinand Freiherr von Miller), depicting five allegoric female figures symbolic of the Bolivarian countries,

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, surrounding

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...

. * The

statue. * The

Triumphal Arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...

, depicting the three main races (Caucasian, African and Native American) that combined into the Colombian ethnic mix. * The Flags Square, with the Liberty Fire; a perpetual gas-ignited flame. * The Chapel, with four daily

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

es.

References

Boyaca Buildings and structures in Boyacá Department Landmarks in Colombia Monuments and memorials in Colombia Monuments of Colombia {{Colombia-bridge-struct-stub