Mejillones
Coordinates: 23 ° 6 ′ S , 70 ° 27 ′ W
Mejillones (plural of Spanish "mejillón" m. = Mussel ) is a northern Chilean port city and former saltpeter port in the Región de Antofagasta , 75 km north of the provincial capital Antofagasta .
It was founded around 1867. Until the end of the "Pacific War" (Guerra del Pacífico, 1879–1883), also known as the " Saltpeter War" , between Bolivia and Perú on the one hand and Chile on the other, the province of Antofagasta with Mejillones belonged to Bolivia as its only sea access as a result of peace was lost from Ancón to Chile.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the small town was an important port for exporting saltpetre . Countless Windjammer lay at anchor, and (span. For at the "Muelle" Mole ), a giant, also leading into the sea pier to the Lanchas (flat barges, barge ) to be loaded from.
coat of arms
In 2004 the small port town had almost 9,000 inhabitants and lived from port business and tourism .
With the port of Megapuerto de Mejillones , Chile plans to build the largest seaport in Chile, but its complete completion is not planned for 2030.
Web links
- http://www.mejillones.cl/ (span.)
- http://www.albumdesierto.cl/aleman/1index.htm (German, history of saltpeter)