Sucre

Legal capital and seat of the judiciary of Bolivia, also capital of Chuquisaca department; population (2001 est) 194,900. It stands on the central plateau in the Andes at an altitude of 2,840 m/9,320 ft. It is the commercial centre for the surrounding agricultural area, and has an oil refinery and cement works.

Sucre was founded in 1538 as La Plata. From 1559 it was the Spanish centre of the Charcas region (stretching from southern Peru to Rio de la Plata in Argentina). In 1776, new territorial divisions resulted in the city's name being changed to Chuquisaca. It was given its present name on 6 August 1825 in honour of Antonio José de Sucre, the first president of the new republic. The cathedral dates from 1553, and the University of San Francisco Xavier (1624) is probably the oldest in South America. The first revolt against Spanish rule in South America began here on 25 May 1809. Sucre was designated a World Heritage Site in 1991, on account of its many Spanish colonial-era buildings.