Bárbula

This article is about the place in Venezuela. For other meanings of the word, see Barbula (disambiguation).

Bárbula
Bárbula
Coordinates: 10°17′N 68°01′W
Country	Venezuela
State	Carabobo
Municipality	Naguanagua Municipality
Time zone	UTC−4 (VET)

La muerte de Girardot en Bárbula, a painting of the Battle of Barbula by Cristóbal Rojas

Bárbula is a locality in Naguanagua Municipality, Venezuela. It has the main campus of the University of Carabobo. The facilities include a palmetum, the Parque Universitario Palmetum.

Battle of Bárbula

At the beginning of the 19th century Bárbula was a farm or hacienda, which was visited by Alexander von Humboldt.

In 1813 the locality was the site of a battle, the Batalla de Bárbula, in which Colombian and Venezuelan independentists defeated Royalist troops. The background was that the United Provinces of New Granada (Colombia) granted Simon Bolivar permission to lead a force to free Venezuela. The battle is mentioned in the National Anthem of Colombia in an allusion to the heroic death of Atanasio Girardot.

Del Orinoco el cauce

se colma de despojos;

de sangre y llanto un río

se mira allí correr.

En Bárbula no saben

las almas ni los ojos,

si admiración o espanto

sentir o padecer.

Bárbula Tunnel

Bárbula Tunnel is part of a railway under construction between Puerto Cabello and La Encrucijada (Estado Aragua). The project to build the line of approx. 108 km is managed by Instituto de Ferrocarriles del Estado. The tunnel has a length of 7.8 km (4.8 mi), which makes it the longest in South America.