Cartagena was founded in 1533 By Pedro de Heredia on the site of an amerindian village, formerly called Kalamary, taking its name from Cartagena, in Spain, which itself had been named after the ancient city of Carthage.

LEYAND AND HISTORY are intertwined in the city of Cartagena de Indias, one of the best preserved examples of Spanish colonial architecture in the New World.

The Old Town is surrounded by 11 Km of stone ramparts that serve as a constant reminder of Cartagena`s turbulent past.

Increasingly, Cartagena became a vital stating post in exporting this plunder. The riches paasing through the por were a great temptation for foreing robbers and Cartagena was frequently attacked by privateers such as Robert Baal, John Hawkins and Francis Drake, who held the city to ransom as well as stealing its riches.

Eventually, to stop these losses, the Spanish fortified the city, which soon became the most strongly defended in South America. Today the imposing San Felipe Fortress still keeps watch over the walled city.

Cartagena flourished, becoming rich and prosperous as a trading center in particular for the slave trade. Lavish houses were built and largue fortunes amassed as the town went from strength to strength. But the city longed to be in charge of its own affairs and not ruled from afar.

A social and economic revival has taken place over the past half centuru, starting in 1957, when Colombian´s largest company, empresa Colombiana de Petróleos (Ecopetrol), built an oil refinery at Mamonal, near Cartagena.

This has attracted others industries and helped Cartagena grow into a thriving city. Today, it is Colombia´s fifth-largest city, with over 1,000,000 inhabitants, as well as the nation´s leading industrial, petrochemical and commercial center.