Riobamba (, full name San Pedro de Riobamba; Quechua: ''Rispampa'') is the capital of

Chimborazo Province Chimborazo () is a Provinces of Ecuador, province in the central Ecuadorian Andes. It is a home to a section of Sangay National Park. The capital is Riobamba. The province contains Chimborazo (volcano), Chimborazo (6,267 m), Ecuador's highest mou ...

in central

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 is located in the

Chambo River The Chambo River () is a tributary of the Pastaza River in the Amazon basin in Ecuador. The Chambo rises on the Cordillera Real (Ecuador), Central Cordillera. The Chambo runs across Chimborazo Province, and eventually joins with the Patate River i ...

Valley of the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

. It is located south of Ecuador's capital

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

and situated at an elevation of 2,754 m. The city is an important regional transport center and a stop on 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 ...

, which runs through Ecuador. Riobamba is one of the largest cities in the central portion of Ecuador's Sierra region.

Name

Riobamba takes its name from a combination of ''rio'', the Spanish word for "river", and ''rispampa'', the Quechua word for "plain."

History

The region surrounding Riobamba was inhabited by the Puruhá nation before the advance of the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

during the late 15th century. The Puruha fiercely resisted the Inca efforts to conquer the north of today's Ecuador. The Inca

Huayna Capac Huayna Capac (; Cuzco Quechua: ''Wayna Qhapaq'' ) (before 14931527) was the third Sapa Inca of Tawantinsuyu, the Inca Empire. He was the son of and successor to Túpac Inca Yupanqui,Sarmiento de Gamboa, Pedro; 2015, originally published in Sp ...

had to make an alliance in order to pacify the tribes who sided with Condorazo, the general of the Puruha nation. He allied with the Schyris confederation, also known as the Caran-Quitu people, believed to have developed the Kingdom of Quito in the northern Andes. The 18th-century Jesuit historian Juan de Velasco described this confederation as a group of tribes ruled by the Duchicela dynasty. Huayna Capac took the princess Paccha as his wife and gave special treatment and social status privileges to the higher castes of these new subjects. The son of this alliance was

Atahualpa Atahualpa (), also Atawallpa or Ataw Wallpa ( Quechua) ( 150226 July 1533), was the last effective Inca emperor, reigning from April 1532 until his capture and execution in July of the following year, as part of the Spanish conquest of the In ...

, who served as the last king of the Inca. Following the Spanish invasion and conquest of the Inca and their allies, Riobamba was founded on 15 August 1534 in the San Miguel plains by Diego de Almagro. It is considered the first city to be established in what is modern-day Ecuador.Leon, P., 1998, ''The Discovery and Conquest of Peru, Chronicles of the New World Encounter,'' edited and translated by Cook and Cook, Durham: Duke University Press, In 1563, the city became part of the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

's newly formed Royal Audience of Quito. Although the city was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1797, it was rebuilt a few years later from its original location. The second site was near a village named Cajabamba on the plains of San Antonio de Aguíscate. The city still retains much architecture from the Spanish colonial period. During the

Ecuadorian War of Independence The Ecuadorian War of Independence, part of the Spanish American wars of independence of the early 19th century, was fought from 1809 to 1822 between Spain and several South American armies over control of the ''Real Audiencia of Quito'', a Sp ...

, Riobamba first declared independence on November 11, 1820, but was soon retaken by Crown forces. In 1822 the city became part of

Gran Colombia Gran Colombia (, "Great Colombia"), also known as Greater Colombia and officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish language, Spanish: ''República de Colombia''), was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and parts of Central ...

, which gained independence from Spain that year. In 1830 the Republic of Ecuador established its own independence as a nation.

20th century to present

The Monumental Raúl Dávalos, a 13,000-person capacity bullring, opened here in 1952. In 2011 the nation voted by referendum to prohibit matadors killing the bulls in such '' corridas'', a policy also followed by Portugal. This has resulted in a dramatic decline in related tourism, with a substantial loss in revenues, especially in Quito. On 20 November 2002, seven people were killed and hundreds wounded from a series of explosions at the munitions depot at the Galapagos Brigade arsenal in Riobamba. Such was the force of the explosion that many residents said they first thought there had been an earthquake or volcanic eruption. Windows were blown out more than 1.5 kilometres from the arsenal, and many of the injured suffered lacerations from flying shards of glass. According to Colonel Arturo Cadena, a military spokesman in

, the initial explosion occurred during maintenance work inside the dump. In April 2003, the army published its final investigatory report of the explosion. It concluded that the Santa Barbara munitions factory was directly responsible for the explosion, which the army classified as an accident.

Geography

Riobamba is located in the center of the country in the sierra region, in close proximity to the Chimborazo volcano. Like many cities in Ecuador, Riobamba has a near constant temperature year-round, with a wet and dry season. Its altitude (2754 m) and closeness to Chimborazo give the city a cool climate year-round, with temperatures averaging between 23 °C and 14 °C.

Climate

Economy

The economy of the city is based on the agricultural production of the surrounding local populations. Riobamba is also an important trade center of cattle-ranching. The city has an open-air market where indigenous artisans display and sell their wares. They make products such as handwoven textiles, handicrafts, leather goods, beer, and dairy products.

Education

Universities include Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo, Escuela Superior Politecnica de Chimborazo, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, and Instituto Tecnologico superior Isabel de Godin.

Cityscape

Riobamba is a mid-level city in Ecuador, and the tenth largest in terms of population. It is the urban center of the Riobamba canton. Its historic center that has a number of well-preserved churches.

Festivals

The main celebration in Riobamba is Fiesta del Niño Rey de Reyes, which starts in December and ends on January 6, Epiphany. Another celebration is Riobamba's Independence Day on 21 April.

Museums

* Arte Religioso de la Concepción This museum has a gem-encrusted gold

monstrance A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharisti ...

. The art included in this religious collection is from the 18th century. * Museum Córdoba Román The Cordoba Roman family established a private collection consisting of ancient art, archaeological pieces, documents, and other possessions. They donated it to Riobamba municipality as the basis of a city museum. * Armas It exhibits a wide selection of arms and uniforms. It also has religious materials from various epochs of Ecuador's history. It is located on Ave. Héroes de Tapi. * Casa de Bolívar * Antropológico del Banco Central * Museum y Centro Cultural Riobamba del Banco Central * Museum "Paquita Jaramillo" * Museum "Cultural Fernando Daquilema" * Museum Didáctico de Ciencias Naturales, at Pedro Vicente Maldonado high school

Sports

Riobamba is the home city of one top-level football club, Centro Deportivo Olmedo. Cockfights are usually seen during Riobamba's festivities and on weekends at the Gallera San Francisco. Riobamba is the trekking and mountain climbing capital of Ecuador. It is the base city for climbs of

Carihuairazo Mount Carihuairazo (also ''Carihuayrazo'') is an eroded stratovolcano neighboured by Ecuador's highest mountain Chimborazo. Geography Location Carihuairazo is located in the Cordillera Occidental of the Andes of central Ecuador, south-southw ...

Chimborazo Chimborazo () is a stratovolcano situated in Ecuador in the Cordillera Occidental (Ecuador), Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Its last known Types of volcanic eruptions, eruption is believed to have occurred around AD 550. Although not ...

Sangay Sangay (also known as Macas, Sanagay, or Sangai) is an Volcano#Active, active stratovolcano in central Ecuador. It exhibits mostly Strombolian eruption, strombolian activity. Geologically, Sangay marks the southern boundary of the Northern Volc ...

, El Altar, and the Lost Pyramid of Puñay. Mountain biking is another common sport.

Sightseeing

A scenic train ride (''Nariz Del Diablo'') leaves Riobamba three times a week, passing the Devil's Nose and Alausí round trip, with zig-zags. Before 2009 passengers were permitted to sit on the roof, but this practice has been prohibited for safety reasons.

Notable people

Pedro Vicente Maldonado Pedro Vicente Maldonado y Flores (November 24, 1704 in Riobamba, Royal Audience of Quito (today's Ecuador) – November 7, 1748 in London, England) was an Ecuadorian scientist who collaborated with the members of the French Geodesic Mission. As ...

(1704–1748) – scientist, astronomer, mathematician, topographer, geographer * Magdalena Dávalos y Maldonado (1725–1806) – scholar and literary figure, painter, musician * Juan de Velasco (1727–1792) – Jesuit priest, historian, professor, poet, writer * Luz Elisa Borja Martínez (1903–1927) – poet, pianist, painter, and sculptor * Luis A Costales (1926–2006) – poet, philosopher, speaker, historian, and politician * María Murgueytio (1927–2016) – first woman in Ecuador to hold a mayoral office * Pacifico Chiriboga (1810–1886) – early Ecuadorean politician * Bolívar Echeverría (1941–2010) – philosopher, economist, cultural critic * Euler Granda (1935–2018) – poet, writer, psychiatrist * Oswaldo Moncayo (1923–1984) – painter * Oswaldo Muñoz Mariño (1923–2016) – architect, painter

Gallery

File:Catedral Riobamba.jpg, Cathedral File:Iglesia de la Concepción Riobamba.jpg, Iglesia de la Concepción File:Loma de Quito.jpg, Loma de Quito's Church File:EL CHIMBORAZO.jpg, The Chimborazo volcano File:Neptuno riobamba.JPG, Neptuno File:LOS ALTARES.JPG, Los Altares File:Ecuador Riobamba ParqueMaldonada.JPG, Maldonado's Park File:Monumento Luis Alberto Costales.jpg, Luis Costales monument File:Riobamba.png,

“ Riobamba, la bella, grande y noble, ha sido y es gloria y fortuna, para quienes nacieron en ella. “ - Luis A Costales

References

External links

Official website of the municipality Gadm Riobamba (In Spanish)

Riobamba area map

Riobamba City Guide
{{Authority control Populated places in Chimborazo Province Provincial capitals in Ecuador Populated places established in 1534 1534 establishments in the Spanish Empire Riobamba Canton