Punta Arenas

Punta Arenas on the map of Chile

Punta Arenas is a city in the extreme south of Chile.

It is the capital of the Chilean Region XII Región de Magallanes y Antártica Chilena de la. It lies on the Chilean mainland opposite the island of Tierra del Fuego and is with 117 432 inhabitants ( 2005) largest city in Chilean Patagonia.

Geography

Punta Arenas is located in the extreme south of the country, on the Strait of Magellan and on the Brunswick Peninsula. She argues with other cities for the honor to be most southerly city in the world, but at least they may well be called southernmost city in the world.

Further north is Puerto Natales and Rio Gallegos (Argentina ), further south to Ushuaia (Argentina) and Puerto Williams.

Climate

The average annual temperature fluctuates around 6 ° C, the precipitation spread over the whole year, with a month to fall about 25-45 mm. The previous coldest temperature in the city was measured on 25 June 1964 -16.4 ° C.

History

The Chilean colony was founded on December 18, 1848, after Port Famine had perished by a military revolt.

Punta Arenas initially served as a penal colony, and later as a free port, has become increasingly important with the discovery of coal (1872 ) and the introduction of sheep by British. In 1875, the population was only 915, already 4,000 in 1884 and there were 16 estancias 40,000 sheep, 6,000 cattle and 2,000 horses.

The Strait of Magellan surveying, the city was a station of the main trade routes of the earth and so almost completely dependent on their wealth of the merchants of this trade route. Your first big boom they had during the California Gold Rush when it served as a port of call for the clipper ships. After the opening of the Panama Canal the port lost its importance, however, came just in time, the second awakening in the city when it was Chile's center for the wool trade.

Attractions

Punta Arenas is a colorful mix of different cultures and people, from the descendants of Portuguese sailors to English sheep farmers. A large proportion of the population is Croat stocky, also Russian, Jewish, German and Swiss immigrants have shaped the image of the city. The natives, however, were almost completely destroyed in the late 19th and early 20th century. These days there are in the middle of the Plaza de Armas ( "Place of Arms" or central square) of Punta Arenas is a monument to the Indians. Legend has it you will return to Punta Arenas when kissing or touching the big toe of the American Indian.

Worth seeing is the cemetery of Punta Arenas; the grave inscriptions (which are often not written in Spanish but in English, German, or Croatian) testify to the immigration history of the city. The city's inhabitants claim that it is "the most beautiful cemetery in South America ". Also a memorial to Vice Admiral Graf Spee is located in the cemetery.

The beach in front of the city three historic sailing ships are set as a breakwater due. The most famous and best preserved wreck is that of the County of Peebles, the first iron sailing ship in the world with four towers, built in 1875.

Since 1 October 2011, the ship open-air museum Museo Nao Victoria is open Schiffsnachbauten with the audience.

Punta Arenas is also a popular starting point for excursions and cruises in one of the most scenically spectacular sceneries in the world, with the fjord landscapes in the region or the National Park Torres del Paine. In addition, there are some penguin colonies, which can be visited.

Twinning

• Río Gallegos, Argentina
• Río Grande, Argentina
• Ushuaia, Argentina
• Bellingham, Washington, USA
• Split, Croatia