The yellow two-storey colonial building on the Plaza Bolívar housed the Congress of Angostura, which in February 1819 declared Simón Bolívar president of the newly proclaimed Republic of Gran Colombia. The decision to unite present-day Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador under a single government was taken here; the building has been preserved as a national museum since the centenary celebrations in 1919.
The interior is small but worth the half hour. The main council chamber has been laid out as it was on the day of the congress, and the museum's collection includes period prints, weapons, and signed documents. Labels are in Spanish only.