Avellaneda (, ) is a port city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the seat of the Avellaneda Partido, whose population was 342,677 as per the . Avellaneda is located within the

Greater Buenos Aires Greater Buenos Aires ( es, Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area ( es, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adjac ...

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

, and is connected to neighboring Buenos Aires by several bridges over the Riachuelo River.

Overview

Located on land granted to Adelantado Juan Torres de Vera y Aragón by Captain Juan de Garay in 1620, a port settlement known as ''Puerto del Riachuelo'' first emerged here in 1731. Established as ''Barracas al Sur'' on April 7, 1852, by Quilmes Justice of the Peace Martín José de la Serna, the town grew to become a major rail center during the late 19th century. It was renamed on January 11, 1904, after former President Nicolás Avellaneda. It was declared a city on October 23, 1895, and its population has been stable since around 1960. Avellaneda is one of the foremost wholesale and industrial centers of Argentina. The city's largest employers are textile mills, meat-packing and grain-processing plants, oil refineries, metallurgical works, extensive docking facilities, and markets for farm and ranch products; some of the most prominent firms whose main facilities are in Avellaneda are food processor Molinos Río de la Plata, beverage maker Cepas Argentinas, bathroom fixtures maker Ferrum, and América 24 cable news. The National University of Avellaneda was established here in 2009. The Central Produce Market (''Mercado Central de Frutos'') also operated in Avellaneda. Located on the banks of the Riachuelo, it was developed by Irish Argentine businessman Eduardo Casey and inaugurated in 1889; served by a Buenos Aires Western Railway rail link, the brick structure was at the time the largest warehouse in the world. The decentralization of warehousing and wholesaling during the 20th century, as well as its nationalization in 1946 as part of the IAPI state export agency, resulted in its decline, however, and the Central Produce Market closed in 1963. It was ultimately demolished in 1966 to make way for the New Pueyrredón Bridge that connects Avellaneda to the Frondizi Expressway in Buenos Aires proper.

Religion

The Diocese of Avellaneda and Lanús was formally established in 1961. Its cathedral, ''Iglesia Catedral de la Asunción'', had been consecrated a century earlier. The construction of numerous high rises around Alsina Square during the 1950s and '60s led to irreparable structural damage to the cathedral, however, and in 1967 it was closed to the public. Demolished in 1971, the Renaissance Revival cathedral was replaced in 1984 by a modern structure.

Sports

Two of the most important Argentine football clubs, Independiente and Racing, are located in Avellaneda. The city became the third in the world (after Milan and

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

) to be home to two world championship teams when Independiente won the

1973 Intercontinental Cup The 1973 Intercontinental Cup was an association football match played on 28 November 1973 between Juventus, runners-up of the 1972–73 European Cup, and Independiente, winners of the 1973 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the Stadio Ol ...

People

See

Landmarks

File:Monumento Nicolas Avellaneda.JPG, Monument to Nicolás Avellaneda on Alsina Square File:Hospital Pedro Fiorito Avellaneda.JPG, Pedro Fiorito Hospital File:Avellaneda - Teatro Colonial.JPG, Colonial Theatre File:Autopista Presidente Arturo Frondizi (9 de Julio).jpg, Pueyrredón Park File:Viejo Puente Pueyrredón y edificios de Avellaneda.jpg, Pueyrredón Bridge

References