Viña del Mar
| Viña del Mar | |
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Coordinates: 33 ° 2 ′ S , 71 ° 33 ′ W
Viña del Mar on the map of Chile
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| Basic data | |
| Country | Chile |
| Residents | 334,248 (2017) |
| Detailed data | |
| height | 2 m |
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Viña del Mar is a city in Chile . It is located in the Agglomeration of Valparaíso and is the fourth largest city in the country with 334,248 inhabitants (as of 2017). The city, located on a bay of the Pacific , is a glamorous vacation spot.
Attractions
The ambience of the city with its palm trees and sandy beaches attracts numerous visitors, especially in January and February. In addition to discos or pubs and the local casino, some parks provide opportunities for recreation in what is known as the “garden city” (Ciudad Jardín) by tourist advertising .
The city lies on the banks of the Marga-Marga River, which is only seasonally water-bearing . Popular excursion destinations are the Botanical Garden (Jardín Bótanico) in the east of the city, the Parque Sausalito excursion park with an artificial lake and the “Flower Clock” (Reloj de Flores), Viña's landmark at the foot of Cerro Castillo (“Castle Hill”). To the right of her a staircase leads up to a lookout point with a view of the northern part of Viña Del Mar and the entire Bay of Valparaíso.
The summer residence of the Chilean presidents is on Cerro Castillo . Below the hill, directly by the sea, is a villa of German descent Gustavo Adolfo Wulff Mowle (1849–1946), who immigrated in 1881, built in 1908 and expanded in 1916 with a turret-like villa, now open to the public, called Castillo Wulff (“Wulff Castle ").
In the north of Viña, on a hill with a view of the city and the adjacent Valparaíso, is the Santa Inés municipal cemetery . Until he was transferred to a presidential crypt in Santiago de Chile in 1990, there was the grave of President Salvador Allende, who was overthrown by the military in 1973 (anonymously without naming until 1989).
During the main season, the city, like the neighboring towns of Reñaca and Concón to the north , is a popular seaside resort. Around the beach of Reñaca, along the coastline and above the built-up hills, relatively large dunes begin, which extend to the village of Concón. Reñaca and Las Salinas are considered to be the most beautiful beaches . The flags on the beaches indicate the safety situation to bathers: red means that the waves are causing a very strong suction (danger to life).
The cultural life in Viña is pronounced. Well-known festivals take place regularly , especially the International Song Festival in February on an open-air stage in the city park of Quinta Vergara .
An ATP tennis tournament takes place here every year from the end of January to the beginning of February .
history
The city was founded by Pedro de Valdivia on the site of a vineyard ( Spanish viña ). Valdivia actually separated two large haciendas , the southern one was called 'Viña de la Mar' and the northern one was called 'Las Siete Hermanas'. In 1855 a railway line between Valparaíso and Viña del Mar was opened.
Viña del Mar only received city rights on May 30, 1878, until then it belonged to the city of Valparaíso. On August 16, 1906, both cities were devastated by a severe earthquake .
In 1929, President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo opened the presidential palace, which is still used as a summer residence, and the casino in Viña on the beach promenade immediately north of the mouth of the Marga-Marga in a representative villa on the Cerro Castillo hill .
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1982 | 265,355 |
| 1992 | 285.454 |
| 2002 | 286.931 |
| 2017 | 334.248 |
economy
Viña lives mainly from tourism and the related services.
Town twinning
- Mar del Plata , Argentina
- Sausalito , USA (California)
sons and daughters of the town
- César Espinoza (1900–1956), football player
- Alberto Hurtado (1901–1952), Jesuit and saint of the Catholic Church
- María Luisa Bombal (1910–1980), writer
- Rosita Serrano (1914–1997), singer
- Patricio Aylwin (1918–2016), politician
- Teresa Hamel (1918–2005), writer
- Carlos Botto Vallarino (1923–2004), composer and music teacher
- Mauricio Pergelier (* 1951), organist and university professor
- Edmundo Warnke (* 1951), athlete
- María Ignacia Benítez (1958–2019), politician
- Tom Araya (* 1961), singer and bassist in the thrash metal band Slayer
- Sandra Vásquez de la Horra (* 1967), artist
- Beatriz Sánchez (* 1970), journalist and politician
- Sebastián González (* 1978), football player
- Nicolás Massú (* 1979), tennis player
- Marco Oneto (* 1982), handball player
- Marco Estrada (* 1983), football player
- Eugenio Mena (* 1988), football player
- Fidel Córdova (* 1989), football player
- Cristóbal Saavedra Corvalán (* 1990), tennis player
- Felipe Ríos (* 1992), tennis player
- Mauricio Ojeda , contemporary painter
as well:
- Los Jaivas , folk / rock musical group
