The Former National Congress Building (''ex Congreso Nacional'') is the former home of the
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
an
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
. Congress met in this building in central
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
until Salvador Allende's socialist government was overthrown by Augusto Pinochet's military Chilean coup of 1973, coup d'état on September 11, 1973.
During the Pinochet dictatorship, Congress was moved to new premises in Valparaíso;
the old building was declared a national monument in 1976 and between 1990
and 2006 housed the ministry of foreign affairs. The Senate moved its offices in Santiago to this building in December 2000. On January 26, 2006 the Chamber of Deputies recovered its old offices.
Work began on the original building under List of Presidents of Chile, President Manuel Montt Torres (1851–1861), but the construction was not completed until 1876, during the presidency of Federico Errázuriz Zañartu. The building was destroyed by fire in 1895, rebuilt, and reopened in 1901, during the Parliamentary Era. It stands on Morandé 441 near the Alameda Avenue, Blvd. Liberador Bernardo O'Higgins, partially surrounded by gardens
that contain a variety of exotic trees and plant life. The eastern portion of the gardens was the former site of the Church of the Company Fire, Church of the Company.
The building has a cross within a square plan, which creates four courtyards. It also features classical pedimented porticos with Corinthian columns on the north and east facades.
The building and its gardens occupy a complete city block, which is adjacent to city blocks containing other nationally significant buildings such as the Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral, the Palacio de los Tribunales de Justicia de Santiago and the building that currently houses the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino.
The building is open to the public on a limited basis.
See also
* List of Jesuit sites
References
External links
*
{{coord, 33, 26, 16, S, 70, 39, 11, W, region:CL_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title
Legislative buildings
Buildings and structures in Santiago
Tourist attractions in Santiago, Chile
Government buildings completed in 1876
Former seats of national legislatures
1876 establishments in Chile