Quemchi

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Quemchi is a municipality ( Comuna ) in the south of Chile on the island of Chiloé in the Región de los Lagos . It is the birthplace of the Chilean writer Francisco Coloane , and there is also a church in Quemchi that has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO .

location and size

The municipality of Quemchi is located on the northeast coast of the island of Chiloé and covers an area of ​​440.3 km². The distance to Castro , the capital of the province of Chiloé, is 67 km. The offshore island of Caucahué and the island group Islas Chauques , which consists of Mechuque (15 km²), Añihué, Voigue, Cheñiao, Butachauques, Tac and Aulín, belong to the municipality. The municipality of Quemchi is made up of the town of the same name and the following villages:

  • Lliuco
  • Huite
  • Quemchi
  • Aucar
  • Montemar
  • Choen
  • Colo
  • Quicaví.

population

The 2002 census showed a population of 8,689 inhabitants, of which 1,665 (19.2%) lived in the city of Quemchi and 7 024 (80.8%) in the villages belonging to the municipality. From 1992 to 2002 the population increased by 6.1% (501 people).

history

Monument to Francisco Coloane in Quemchi
Quemchi Port

The place name Quemchi was first mentioned in 1810, but the year 1882 is considered to be the year the city was founded. In 1810 the place consisted of only four houses, one of which belonged to a family called Coloane - the ancestors of the writer who was born here in 1910. In 1875 the first church in Quemchi was built. It fell victim to a major fire in 1934 along with 40 other buildings and was rebuilt in the 1940s. In the earthquake of 1960 the standing seaside stilt houses were destroyed.

The Chilean writer Francisco Coloane, who called Quemchi "the community of a thousand landscapes", was born in Huite in 1910 and attended school here.

While initially forestry, wood processing and the shipping of the wood felled in the vicinity of the city formed the economic basis of Quemchi, since the 1990s with the improvement of the overall economy of Chile, tourism in Quemchi and the surrounding area has increased in importance. With the asphalting of the main access road to Quemchi in 2000, the traffic connections and the economic situation of the municipality were considerably improved.

Buildings

The Iglesia de San Antonio church in the village of Colo is one of the 16 wooden churches on Chiloé that have been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO . It was built towards the end of the 19th century and restored in 1996 and 2005. The church, which was built mainly from the wood of the Coihue southern beech and the cypress on a stone base, is one of the smallest churches on the island of Chiloé. Its tower is 16.50 m high, while the nave is 23 m long. Inside the church are u. a. two paintings are noteworthy, which depict Mary and the patron saint of the church, Anthony of Padua. On August 10th the church was declared a national treasure.

The city's museum is dedicated to the city's history and the life and work of Francisco Coloane. The mausoleum of his family in the old cemetery in the city center is a much visited attraction, as are the quayside Calle Centenario .

Surroundings

On the bay of Quemchi, 4 km south of the city, is the village of Aucar with the Isla Aucar in front, which can be reached via an almost 600 m long wooden bridge and which is completely occupied by a cemetery with an associated chapel. Francisco Coloane called the island "the island of seafaring souls".

The island of Caucahué is visited for its sea lion colony and its church built at the beginning of the 20th century. On the island of Mechuque with its 1090 inhabitants (2002), the largest island in the Islas Chauques group with an area of ​​15 km², many people live in houses on stilts, and the school, which was declared a national cultural asset in 2004, is housed in a stilt house.

For the municipality of Quemchi, tourism has grown in importance as an economic factor since the 1990s. The village of Lliuco , 14 km north of the city of Quemchi, is known for its fine sandy beach - one of the longest beaches in Chiloé - which offers a variety of opportunities for water sports. The Laguna Popetán, where the village of Montemar (8 km) is located, is also popular for water sports.

Personalities

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Juan Mancilla Pérez: Pueblos de Chiloé , p. 14. Castro 2008
  2. ↑ Dominique Verhasselt: Archipielago Chiloé - el encanto de una isla misteriosa , p. 103. Santiago de Chile. ISBN 978-956-7136-53-7
  3. ↑ a b Juan Mancilla Pérez: Pueblos de Chiloé , p. 15. Castro 2008
  4. ↑ Dominique Verhasselt: Archipielago Chiloé - el encanto de una isla misteriosa , p. 32. Santiago de Chile. ISBN 978-956-7136-53-7
  5. ↑ Jorge Sánchez R .: Chiloé - tradición y cultura , p. 30. Santiago de Chile 2006
  6. ↑ Susanne Asal: Chile with Easter Island , p. 201. Ostfildern 2007
  7. ↑ Juan Mancilla Pérez: Pueblos de Chiloé , p. 21. Castro 2008

Coordinates: 42 ° 9 ′  S , 73 ° 29 ′  W