Cruz del Eje is a city in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Córdoba, Argentina. It had about 30,000 inhabitants at the . It is the head town of the department of the same name, which has a population of about 52,000. The area of the city was originally inhabited by Comechingón aboriginals, which were thoroughly displaced or exterminated by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

conquistadores by the end of the 17th century. The first official owner of the lands was Francisco de Baigorri, as recorded on September 22, 1735, which is taken as the foundation date of the city. The settlement was linked by a road to the provincial capital, Córdoba, in 1878, and it was declared a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

on May 8, 1890; at the time it had about 4,000 inhabitants. On the latter year the

train station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing s ...

was also opened. Cruz del Eje's position as a railroad node would lead to a rapid growth in importance; the railway workshops were dismantled in the 1970s. The

Cruz del Eje Reservoir Cruz is a surname of Iberian origin, first found in Castile, Spain, but later spread throughout the territories of the former Spanish and Portuguese Empires. In Spanish and Portuguese, the word means "cross", either the Christian cross or t ...

, initiated by Governor

Amadeo Sabattini Amadeo Tomás Sabattini (May 29, 1892 – February 29, 1960) was an Argentine politician. He served as Governor of Córdoba from May 17, 1936, to May 17, 1940. Sabattini was born in Buenos Aires to immigrant parents: His mother was Uruguayan, ...

, was completed in 1943. The city grew subsequently as a

tourist destination A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural ...

. President

Arturo Illia Arturo Umberto Illia (; 4 August 1900 – 18 January 1983) was an Argentine politician and physician, who was President of Argentina from 12 October 1963, to 28 June 1966. He was a member of the centrist Radical Civic Union. Illia reached t ...

maintained a medical practice in Cruz del Eje from 1928 until his election as President of Argentina in 1963. President Illia's Cruz del Eje home was made a museum in 2003.

References

External links

Portal of the city
Populated places in Córdoba Province, Argentina Populated places established in 1735 {{CórdobaAR-geo-stub