Turmequé

History

Turmequé was an important center for the Muisca who inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense before the arrival of the Spanish conquest led by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, who founded modern Turmequé on July 20, 1537 in his search for El Dorado. Turmequé was part of the Muisca Confederation led by the zaque based in Hunza, present-day department capital Tunja. The name of the village is Chibcha and means "vigorous chief". Another name for the town is Valle de las trompetas ("Trumpet Valley") because of the trumpets the Spanish conquistadores were bringing with them. Turmequé has given its name to the Colombian national game of tejo, previously called Turmequé. In the village center a statue honouring the Muisca sports god Chaquén still remembers this.

Before the municipality was split, it used to be extensive in area. In 1773 Villapinzón (then called Hato Viejo) became a separate unity and in 1776 Ventaquemada was separated from Turmequé.

Economy

The town center is for the most part focused on commerce and services while the rural area has agriculture; potatoes, beans, maize, onions, peas, wheat, barley and fruits such as prunes, blackberries, pears and apples and the typical Colombian fruits curuba and feijoa. Livestock farming consists of mainly pork.

Tourism

Being the birthplace of tejo, Turmequé has considerable amount of tourism. Each year the national championships of tejo are held here. The town also has a religious museum.

Climate

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815025712/http://www.ideam.gov.co/documents/21021/553571/Promedios%2BClimatol%C3%B3gicos%2B%2B1981%2B-%2B2010.xlsx/f28d0b07-1208-4a46-8ccf-bddd70fb4128 |archive-date=15 August 2016 |access-date=3 June 2024 |url-status=dead}}

Gallery

File:Turmequé. Plaza principal (Fotografía tomada en 1986)..jpg|Central square File:Turmeque Plaza Marco.jpg|Square File:Calles de Turmequé.JPG|Street view File:Turmeque Panoramica.jpg|View of Turmequé File:Turmequé bajo el abrigo de la cordillera oriental.JPG|Turmequé with Cordillera Oriental in the background File:Monumento a los Indígenas.jpg|Monument honouring the indigenous Muisca File:Monumento de la plaza principal de Turmequé.jpg|Muisca monument at the central square File:Turmequé-Homenaje al Tejo (juego tradicional).JPG|Monument to god Chaquén and tejo File:Monumento a los Indígenas-3.jpg|Monument File:Turmequé "Jefe vigoroso", significado en el lenguaje Muisca.JPG|Head of the statue

References

References

1. {{in lang. es [http://www.turmeque-boyaca.gov.co/index.shtml Official website Turmequé] - accessed 03-05-2016
2. {{in lang. es [http://www.excelsio.net/2011/11/sabe-el-origen-del-nombre-de-su.html Etymology Turmequé] - accessed 03-05-2016