Chillán

- 36.605555555556 - 72.1Koordinaten: 36 ° 36 ' S, 72 ° 6' W

Chillán is a town in the middle of the South American Andean country Chile. It has 167 600 inhabitants ( as of 2004).

Geography

Chillán is located in a wide valley, about halfway between Santiago and Osorno. The city is located approximately 60 km east of Concepción in the Región del Bío -Bío.

The austral summer are very hot, relatively cold at night.

History

Chillán was founded on 25 June 1580 by the Governor General of Chile Martín Ruiz de Gamboa under the name of San Bartolomé de Gamboa. Earthquake destroyed Chillán in 1751 and 1835. Frequently the city was also exposed to flooding.

Despite its bustling commercial city was at the end of the 19th century as unsightly. The population in 1875 was 19,044.

The earthquake on the night of 24th to January 25th, 1939, more than 25,000 of the 41,000 inhabitants died. The town consists almost exclusively of modern buildings since the earthquake destroyed nearly all the historical buildings. Chillán was also affected by the earthquake on 27 February 2010: so were 300 prisoners from the damaged prison escape, some of which were later arrested.

Attractions

In Chillán, there is a small market with arts and crafts, fruit and vegetables.

About 80 km further east there is the spa town ( Termas de Chillán ) with sulphurous thermal springs in the vicinity of the volcano Chillán at 1800 m.

The region is popular with trekking trailers and skiers. Very romantic, the Andes are south-east of the city.

Famous are the wall paintings ( murals ) of the Mexican painter David Alfaro Siqueiros ( 1896-1974 ), covering the walls of a school library.

The city is the birthplace of Bernardo O'Higgins, the first Supreme Director of Chile, and Claudio Arrau (museum).

The museum Arturo Prat is dedicated to the same Chilean naval hero, who died in Salpeter, 1879.

Sons and daughters of the town

• Bernardo O'Higgins (1778-1842), politician and Chile's first head of state
• Ramón Vinay (1912-1996) was a world famous Chilean tenor
• Claudio Arrau (1903-1991), world famous pianist, outstanding Beethoven Performer
• Volodia Teitelboim (1916-2008), a communist writer
• Alejandro Fernández Almendras, director of gambling in Chillán film Huacho - A Day in the Life ( 2011)

Economy

In the region of vineyards. Also, there are some tourism. The city is located on the Panamerican Highway. A few kilometers north-east of Chillán is the city's airport.