Mono_Tech
August 16th, 2009, 10:01 AM
Valdivia is a city and commune in southern Chile administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia and Cau-Cau Rivers, approximately 15 km east of the coastal towns of Corral and Niebla. Since October 2007, Valdivia is the capital of the newly created Los Ríos Region and is also the capital of Valdivia Province. The commune of Valdivia had 140,559 inhabitants (Valdivianos) of which 127,750 lived in the city according to the 2002 census. The city is also the home of the Universidad Austral de Chile, founded in 1954, and Centro de Estudios Científicos.
The city of Valdivia and Chiloé Island were once the two southernmost enclaves of the Spanish Empire. From 1645 to 1740, the city depended directly on the Viceroyalty of Peru that financed the building of the Valdivian fort system, which turned Valdivia into one of the most fortified cities of the New World. In the second half of 19th century, Valdivia was the port of entry for German immigrants who were given land and settled in the surrounding areas.
The city was severely damaged by the Great Chilean Earthquake of 1960 — the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. Debris and destroyed buildings from the earthquake can still be found in the suburban areas — land subsidence and sediments make navigation of the local rivers complex, with some ruined buildings still adjoining the water.
German influences
Since the first Germans migrated to Valdivia in the mid 1850s German cultural influence has been visible in the city. Germans in Valdivia settled mostly in the Isla Teja and Collico suburban areas. Until the building of Pedro de Valdivia Bridge inhabitants of Isla Teja lived isolated from the city, where it was common that children first learned to speak German before Spanish. Nowadays the German language is preserved by the Instituto Alemán Carlos Andwanter one of Latin America's oldest German schools. German descendants also form Valdivia's oldest fire station Germania, located in Isla Teja.
German immigrants and their descendants formed their social club Club Alemán, which after World War II changed names to Club la Union. German workers had once their own club simply called El Alemán (The German).
Valdivia also hosts Bierfest Valdivia, a celebration that could be described as a small, regional Oktoberfest, despite being celebrated in late January or February of every year (during the local summer, when there is the largest influx of tourists). The main sponsor and organizer is Kunstmann, Valdivia's local beer company, founded by German nationals, but since bought out by the largest beer and beverages company in Chile (CCU).
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The city of Valdivia and Chiloé Island were once the two southernmost enclaves of the Spanish Empire. From 1645 to 1740, the city depended directly on the Viceroyalty of Peru that financed the building of the Valdivian fort system, which turned Valdivia into one of the most fortified cities of the New World. In the second half of 19th century, Valdivia was the port of entry for German immigrants who were given land and settled in the surrounding areas.
The city was severely damaged by the Great Chilean Earthquake of 1960 — the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. Debris and destroyed buildings from the earthquake can still be found in the suburban areas — land subsidence and sediments make navigation of the local rivers complex, with some ruined buildings still adjoining the water.
German influences
Since the first Germans migrated to Valdivia in the mid 1850s German cultural influence has been visible in the city. Germans in Valdivia settled mostly in the Isla Teja and Collico suburban areas. Until the building of Pedro de Valdivia Bridge inhabitants of Isla Teja lived isolated from the city, where it was common that children first learned to speak German before Spanish. Nowadays the German language is preserved by the Instituto Alemán Carlos Andwanter one of Latin America's oldest German schools. German descendants also form Valdivia's oldest fire station Germania, located in Isla Teja.
German immigrants and their descendants formed their social club Club Alemán, which after World War II changed names to Club la Union. German workers had once their own club simply called El Alemán (The German).
Valdivia also hosts Bierfest Valdivia, a celebration that could be described as a small, regional Oktoberfest, despite being celebrated in late January or February of every year (during the local summer, when there is the largest influx of tourists). The main sponsor and organizer is Kunstmann, Valdivia's local beer company, founded by German nationals, but since bought out by the largest beer and beverages company in Chile (CCU).
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