The Golden World of Colombia

Did a real ‘Golden Man’ actually exist? Where can one see 36,000 exhibits of pure gold? What artefacts are displayed in the Museum of Gold in Colombia?

We will share everything you need to know about the national pride of Colombia: gold.

The fate and history of Colombia are closely related to gold. Especially for you, we have collected interesting facts about the metal which shields this country for centuries.

Golden secrets of Indians


Indians considered gold to be a sacred metal and believed that it transmits and preserves the energy of the sun. Men, women and children used to wear gold ornaments, and masters who worked with gold enjoyed special respect in the society.


Ancient goldsmiths learned to mix the "solar" metal with copper and platinum, salt and clay. They melted the extracted gold with soldering pipes, mixed it with particles of platinum and produced real masterpieces. Craftsmen achieved the desired melting temperature and sophisticated forms with pinpoint accuracy.

Indians were the first in the world to come up with a way of purifying gold, filling objects with wax, gold-plating and polishing. This is how incredible creations, musical instruments, sculptures, and ritual artefacts were born.


Legend about a Golden Man


Guatavita is a large round lake in Colombia which formed in the crater of a volcano. It is believed that the bottom of the lake hides more than 50 million of gold ornaments.

During each coronation ceremony, the Indians covered their chief’s body with golden sand and decorated him with gold adornments. This literally golden man had to swim on a raft to the middle of the lake and dump all the gold to propitiate the gods.

Some of the items raised from the bottom of the sacred lake are now stored in the Museum of Gold in Colombia.


The richest museum in the world


Gold exhibits collected by historians, ethnographers and archaeologists are displayed in the unique Museum of Gold, which was opened in 1932 in Bogotá. To date, the collection embraces more than 36,000 artefacts made of the yellow metal.


Gold Muisca raft

This stunning creation – a raft of pure gold – is a definite must-see. It represents a platform 20 cm long and 10 cm wide with 10-centimeter figures on it. The figure of a leader of the Muisca tribe is placed on the center and is surrounded by twelve Indians.

The raft built somewhere between 1200 and 1500 BC was raised from the bottom of Lake Guatavita in 1856. 



Gold grandeur


Columbia can boast with diverse collections of gold bars, household items, coins, masks, weapons, armor, figures and mummies. Birds and animals in this country have always been revered as guides to another world, so many gold pieces represent frogs, snails, snakes, jaguars and animal hybrids with humans. Colombian museums carefully store gold jewelry too: earrings, necklaces, bracelets, nasal rings, beads, pins, etc.





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