Ciudad Bolívar

Ciudad Bolívar is the capital of Venezuela's southeastern Bolivar State. It was founded with the name Angostura in 1764, renamed in 1846, and, as of 2010, had an estimated population of 350,691.[citation needed]

The town's original name was a contraction of its full descriptive name, Santo Tomé de Guayana de Angostura del Orinoco (Saint Thomas of Guiana of the narrows of the Orinoco). The town also gave its name to the Angostura tree (Cusparia febrifuga) which grows in the area. Angostura bitters were invented there,[citation needed] though the company which produced them has since moved to Trinidad and Tobago. Ciudad Bolívar's historic center is well preserved, with original colonial buildings around the Plaza Bolívar, including a cathedral.