Berlin (El Salvador)
Coordinates: 13 ° 30 ′ N , 88 ° 32 ′ W
Berlín is a municipality in El Salvador in the Usulután department .
Geographical breakdown
The municipality of Berlín consists of an urban center with around 12,000 inhabitants and 17 cantons with around 30,000 inhabitants. The urban center is located at 1,020 meters above sea level in the mountains of eastern El Salvador. It can be divided into lowland cantons (Zona Baja), the area of the Río Lempa river, and highland cantons (Zona Alta), which is over 1,500 meters above sea level. The names of some rural cantons are: Talpetates , Alta Loma , Las Delicias , El Colón , El Tablón . The names of the neighboring communities are Mercedes Umaña and Santiago de Maria , the next larger city is San Miguel .
religion
Berlín's patron saint is San José ("Saint Joseph "), whose name day is celebrated on March 19th, from March 15th to 20th. The city has a Catholic Church, Protestant and Evangelical groups.
history
During the civil war, Berlin was a conflictual area. In 1983 the FMLN briefly occupied Berlin, whereupon government troops bombed the city. The bombing killed numerous civilians and destroyed several large haciendas .
Domingo Monterrosa Barrios (August 4, 1940 - October 23, 1984 Joateca, Departamento Morazán ), who ordered the El Mozote massacre , comes from Berlin.
economy
Traditionally, the most important economic activity in Berlín is coffee production, which is concentrated in the Zona Alta . Berlín has a coffee preparation system. In the Zona Baja , including the Mechotique region, cattle are raised and sugar cane is grown. For subsistence beans and corn are grown.
Geothermal power plant
In the 1980s, the first wells to build a geothermal power plant were drilled .
Natural phenomena
In the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch in 1998, Berlin was badly damaged by floods and landslides. The earthquakes in January and February 2001 also caused severe damage.
A Unidad Ambiental was set up in the town hall to manage unusual natural events . Heavy rain caused floods and landslides in May 2007, killing five people. Measures are currently being taken to relocate the part of the municipality Brisas del Sol , which is located in a risk zone.