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Temuco |
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Es una de las ciudades más jóvenes de Chile, y con menos de 200 años de historia ha pasado a convertirse en uno de los principales polos de crecimiento urbano del país, ubicándose en el cuarto lugar de éste. Es la capital de la Región de la Araucanía y una hermosa y pujante ciudad que concentra la mayoría de las actividades administrativas, industriales y comerciales de la región. Se ubica frente a la "isla" de tierra comprendida entre los ríos Cautín y Toltén, que fue el corazón palpitante, aguerrido y más poblado del pueblo mapuche. Pedro de Valdivia descubrió estas tierras y, maravillado del paisaje de lomas suaves con espacios despejados de selva, donde un sedentario pueblo mapuche cultivaba sus campos y pacía sus llamas, dijo de ella en sus cartas que "en el mundo no hay nada comparable". En 1552, al borde del río Cautín, Valdivia instaló la Ciudad Imperial en homenaje a Carlos V. Estaba ubicada a 55 km de Temuco a la costa, donde hoy está Carahue, en la confluencia de los ríos Cautín y Las Damas (así bautizado por Valdivia por encontrar ahí jóvenes mapuches en su aseo matinal). La Ciudad Imperial llegó a ser la más próspera de Chile durante la Conquista Española. Durante 282 años esta "isla" vivió en libertad. En 1881-82, en plena Guerra del Pacífico y cuando el ferrocarril llegaba ya hasta San Rosendo (Región del Bio Bío), el gobierno decidió superar definitivamente la discontinuidad del territorio. El Ejército de la Frontera avanzó hacia el sur fundando fuertes hasta el río Toltén, fuertes que con los años serían cimientos de pueblos y ciudades.
Cerro Ñielol
El cerro Ñielol es todo un símbolo de la ardorosa lucha por la pacificación de La Araucanía. Se ubica a sólo cinco cuadras del centro de Temuco. Declarado Parque Nacional Turístico en 1939, pasó a ser administrado como Area Silvestre Protegida en la década del 70 por la Corporación Nacional Forestal (Conaf). Se ha convertido en paseo obligado del visitante que busca empaparse de la historia regional. En sus 84 hectáreas abunda una vegetación arbórea posible de observar a través de cinco senderos habilitados como circuitos turísticos. Allí también se puede encontrar el copihue rojo, flor nacional de Chile.
Mercado Municipal
Recinto tradicional de venta de artesanía mapuche inaugurado en 1929. Lugar donde se puede encontrar objetos de platería, textiles, tallados en madera, cestería e incluso, valiosas antigüedades mapuche. También se puede disfrutar de ricos platos de comida criolla y productos del mar en sus pintorescos restaurantes.
Museo de La Araucanía
En este museo se encuentran las colecciones más completas de la cultura mapuche. Aunque más del 80 por ciento de su material está dedicado a esta etnia, también es posible conocer el aporte de los colonos europeos que llegaron a la Región. El museo regional existe desde 1940, pero sólo hace 28 años ocupa una hermosa casona colonial ubicada en el sector de avenida Alemania, en Temuco. En 1996 el edificio fue declarado Monumento Histórico Nacional. Recibe un promedio anual de 50 mil turistas, pero durante este año la realización de actividades interactivas orientadas a estudiantes ha logrado un récord de 15 mil visitantes en los primeros ocho meses del año.
Museo Nacional Ferroviario Pablo Neruda
Inaugurado el año 2004, el recinto, ubicado en el sector Estación de la ciudad, conserva una de las mayores colecciones de maquinarias en el país, además de poseer un parque de recreación y una carbonera y Casa de Máquinas, ambas construcciones declaradas Monumentos Históricos. El Museo Nacional Ferroviario Pablo Neruda fue inaugurado por el Presidente Ricardo Lagos, quién a través de la Empresa de Ferrocarriles, donaron el coche presidencial que fuese usado por personalidades como el mandatario argentino Juan Domingo Perón.
Teatro Municipal de Temuco
Desde el año 1998 que este epicentro de la cultura regional funciona junto al Parque Estadio Municipal, y desde esa fecha, hasta hoy, ha presentado las mejores presentaciones de Teatro, Opera, Coro y Ballet del sur de Chile.
Foundation
On February 24th 1881, the Fort of Temuco was founded in the banks of the Cautín River by Mr. Manuel Recabarren. Quickly, it went through a transition to a town and then to a city. In 1883, the first colonizers arrived, who until 1894, reached up to 7,000 people. They were from nine different countries and were distributed along the provinces of Malleco and Cautín. Before 15 years since its foundation, the railway was already operating in Temuco. Nowadays, Temuco is an important administrative, commercial, university, tourist and cultural center that has all the necessary structures to become one of the most prosperous cities of the country. Temuco is one of the youngest cities in Chile; with less than 200 years of history, it is located in the fourth position of the main centers of urban growth in the country. It is the capital city of La Araucanía Region and also a beautiful and booming city that holds most of the administrative, industrial and commercial activities in the region. It is located opposite the land located between the Cautín and the Toltén rivers, a place that was the beating, brave and most populated heart of the Mapuche people. Pedro de Valdivia was the person who discovered this land. He, amazed at the view of the small hills and places cleared of forests where a sedentary Mapuche community cultivated the land and grazed llamas, stated that “nothing in the whole world compared to this place” in one of his letters. In 1552, at the banks of the Cautín River, Pedro de Valdivia founded the Imperial City in honor of Charles V. It was located 55 km from Temuco to the coast (where Carahue is located today) in the confluence of the Cautín and Las Damas rivers. Pedro de Valdivia named the last one because of the young Mapuche girls performing their personal cleanliness that he saw there. The Imperial City reached to be the most prosperous in Chile during the Spanish Conquest. This place was completely free during 282 years. Between 1881and 1882, in the middle of The Pacific War and when the railway already went all the way to San Rosendo in the Bio Bío Region, the government decided to put an end to the lack of continuity in the territory in Chile. The Army of La Frontera advanced on the south, founding forts as far as the Toltén River that through the years became the foundations of towns and cities.
Tourist Attractions of Temuco
Ñielol Hill
Ñielol Hill is a real symbol of the ardent fight for the pacification of La Araucanía Region. It is located just five blocks from the center of the city. In 1939, it was declared a National Tourist Park and in the seventies began to be managed as a Protected Wild Area under the administration of the Corporación Nacional Forestal (CONAF), an organization that protects the national natural resources. It became unavoidable for people who want to appreciate the history of this region. Along its 84 hectares, arboreous areas abound and it is possible to see them through five paths that have been fitted out as a tourist area. There you can also find the famous Chile-bells (copihues), which are the national flower in Chile.
Mercado Municipal
This is a traditional building inaugurated in 1929, where there are Mapuche handicrafts for sale. There you can find silverware, textile pieces, carved works, basketwork and even valuable Mapuche antiques. What is more, in the picturesque restaurants located in the interior part, you can taste delicious Creole dishes and sea products.
Museo de la Araucanía
The richest collection of archaeological traces of the Mapuche culture is held in this museum.
This museum contains the most complete collection of archaeological traces of the Mapuche culture. Although more than 80% of the material held in this museum is related to that culture, it is possible to appreciate the contributions of the European colonizers that arrived in the region. It has been opened since 1940, but only for the last 28 years has been located in a beautiful colonial mansion in Alemania Avenue, in Temuco. In 1996, the building was declared a national historical monument. An average of 50,000 tourists a year visit the museum, but during this year the carrying out of interactive activities aimed at students has lead to the breaking record of 15,000 visitors in the first eight months.
Museo Nacional Ferroviario Pablo Neruda (railway museum)
It was inaugurated in 2004 and it is located in the Railway Station area of the city. It holds one of the biggest collections of locomotives in the country, as well as a recreational park, a coalbunker and a locomotive hangar. Both constructions were declared historical monuments. President Ricardo Lagos Escobar inaugurated the Museo Nacional Ferroviario Pablo Neruda, who along with the Railway enterprise donated a presidential carriage that once was used by important figures such as the Argentinean President Juan Domingo Perón.
The Municipal Theater of Temuco
This cultural center opened in 1998 and since that day has been the stage of the best pieces of theater, opera, choir and ballet of southern Chile. It is located next to the park of the Municipal Stadium of Temuco. |
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