Osorno (

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...

: Chauracavi) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in southern

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 eas ...

and capital of

Osorno Province Osorno Province ( es, Provincia de Osorno) is one of the four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Los Lagos (X). The province has an area of and a population of 221,496 distributed across seven communes ( Spanish: ''comunas''). The provi ...

in the

Los Lagos Region Los Lagos Region ( es, Región de Los Lagos , ''Region of the Lakes'') is one of Chile's 16 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains ...

. It had a population of 145,475, as of the 2002 census. It is located south of the national capital of

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, whos ...

, north of the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

al capital of

Puerto Montt Puerto Montt (Mapuche: Meli Pulli) is a port city and commune in southern Chile, located at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region, 1,055 km to the south of the capital, Santiago. The commune ...

and west of the

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

city of

San Carlos de Bariloche San Carlos de Bariloche, usually known as Bariloche (), is a city in the province of Río Negro, Argentina, situated in the foothills of the Andes on the southern shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake. It is located within the Nahuel Huapi National Park ...

, connected via International Route 215 through the Cardenal Antonio Samoré Pass. It is a gateway for land access to the far south regions of Aysén and Magallanes, which would otherwise be accessible only by sea or air from the rest of the country. Located at the confluence of Rahue and Damas River, Osorno is the main service centre of agriculture and cattle farming in the northern Los Lagos Region. The city's cultural heritage is shaped by

Huilliche The Huilliche , Huiliche or Huilliche-Mapuche are the southern partiality of the Mapuche macroethnic group of Chile. Located in the Zona Sur, they inhabit both Futahuillimapu ("great land of the south") and, as the Cunco subgroup, the north ha ...

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 ...

, and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

influences.

History

Prehistory

The city of Osorno is built upon river terraces formed during the last of Earth's geological periods —the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million year ...

. 130,000 years ago, during the transition from the

Santa María glaciation The Illinoian Stage is the name used by Quaternary geologists in North America to designate the period c.191,000 to c.130,000 years ago, during the middle Pleistocene, when sediments comprising the Illinoian Glacial Lobe were deposited. It prec ...

and the Valdivia interglacial the area of Osorno was covered by

pyroclast Tephra is fragmental material produced by a volcanic eruption regardless of composition, fragment size, or emplacement mechanism. Volcanologists also refer to airborne fragments as pyroclasts. Once clasts have fallen to the ground, they rem ...

ic material derivative from large and

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

volcanic eruptions in the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. The substrate of Osorno is accordingly made of various combinations of

volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to refer ...

lapilli Lapilli is a size classification of tephra, which is material that falls out of the air during a volcanic eruption or during some meteorite impacts. ''Lapilli'' (singular: ''lapillus'') is Latin for "little stones". By definition lapilli range ...

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class ...

and

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

with occasional layers of

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and ...

. The city hosts the paleontological and

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

of Pilauco Bajo, where human

footprint Footprints are the impressions or images left behind by a person walking or running. Hoofprints and pawprints are those left by animals with hooves or paws rather than feet, while "shoeprints" is the specific term for prints made by shoes. The ...

s and lithic artifacts dating to the

Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as Upper Pleistocene from a stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of the Pleistocene Epoch withi ...

have been found. There is an adjoining museum and park dedicated to the site.

Old Osorno

The city was originally planned to be founded in 1553, under the Government of

Pedro de Valdivia Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, wh ...

by his companion of conquest, Lieutenant General Don

Francisco de Villagra Francisco de Villagra Velázquez (1511 – 22 July 1563) was a Spanish conquistador, and three times governor of Chile. Early life Born at Santervás de Campos, he was the son of Alvaro de Sarría and Ana Velázquez de Villagra, who were not m ...

; with the name of Santa Marina de Gaete, on the site of a

village named ''Chauracavi''. However, Valdivia's death prevented the realization of this plan before it could materialize. On 27 March 1558, the city was finally founded by governor

García Hurtado de Mendoza García or Garcia may refer to: People * García (surname) * Kings of Pamplona/Navarre ** García Íñiguez of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 851/2–882 ** García Sánchez I of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 931–970 ** García Sánchez II of Pamp ...

, with the new name of ''Villa de San Mateo de Osorno'', in honor of his grandfather, Count of Osorno.Barros Arana 2000, II, p. 132 Osorno is a

municipio ' (, ) and ' () are country subdivisions in Italy and several Hispanophone and Lusophone nations, respectively. They are often translated as "municipality". In the English language, a municipality often is defined as relating to a single city or ...

in Palencia province,

Castile and León Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of th ...

, Spain. In the summer of 1567, various settlers of Osorno joined Ruiz de Gamboa's expedition to

Chiloé Archipelago The Chiloé Archipelago ( es, Archipiélago de Chiloé, , ) is a group of islands lying off the coast of Chile, in the Los Lagos Region. It is separated from mainland Chile by the Chacao Channel in the north, the Sea of Chiloé in the east and t ...

.Barros Arana 2000, II, p. 277 On December 1575 Osorno was struck a major earthquake and the following year hostilities between Spanish and Mapuches, which had begun farther north, reached Osorno.Barros Arana 2000, II, p. 332 Osorno was destroyed again by the indigenous

people in October 1602. The destruction of Osorno forced Spaniards and the remaining indigenous allies to migrate south to the vicinity of

where Spanish rule was still upheld. Indigenous allies the followed the Spanish on their departure were declared

indios reyunos During colonial times indios reyunos was a term to designate a group of huilliche ''yanakuna'' that settled in the area of Calbuco and Abtao, Southern Chile. This group originated from the indigenous peoples that stayed loyal to the Spanish after t ...

and became free of encomienda and held the duty to form a

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. The indios reyunos settled chiefly in

Calbuco Calbuco is a city and commune in southern Chile administered by the Municipality of Calbuco. Administratively Calbuco belongs to the Llanquihue Province of Los Lagos Region. The origin of the city was the Spanish Fort Calbuco founded in 1603, ...

and Abtao. Fernando de Alvarado, an exile from Osorno, led the Spanish resistance in Chiloé against Dutch invaders in 1643. During the crisis that preceded the

Battle of Río Bueno A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

Captain Ignacio Carrera Yturgoyen penetrated with an army from Carelmapu north to the vicinity of the ruins of Osorno where his expedition were approached by Huilliches who handed over three "caciques", allegedly responsible for the murders of the survivors of the wreck of ''San José''. The plains of Osorno and the whole area between

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Cau R ...

and the settlements of Calbuco and Carelmapu remained independent indigenous territory closed to the Spanish. The Spanish had thus little information on this territory and had to rely on hearsay. This lack of concrete knowledge of the territory fueled speculations about the

mythical Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...

City of the Caesars.

New Osorno

On 22 November 1792, Tomás de Figueroa who headed a military expedition from

took possession of the ruins. The

Parliament of Las Canoas The Parliament of Las Canoas ( es, Parlamento de Las Canoas) was a diplomatic meeting between Mapuche-Huilliches and Spanish authorities in 1793 held at the confluence of Rahue River and Damas River near what is today the city of Osorno. The par ...

held in 1793 established anew peace between Spanish and Mapuche-Huilliche. The treaty allowed for Spanish control of a strip of land between Rahue (the known as Río de Las Canoas) and Damas rivers, which including the area of Osorno. Local chiefs Catrihuala, Iñil and Caniu from around Osorno, and other from farther away, participated in the meeting. Under the orders of Ambrosio O'Higgins, Osorno was again rebuilt by

Juan Mackenna Brigadier Juan Mackenna (26 October 1771 – 21 November 1814) was an Irish-born, Chilean military officer and hero of the Chilean War of Independence. He is considered to have been the creator of the Corps of Military Engineers of the Chilean ...

, and declared officially re-populated in 1796. O'Higgins, in turn, was awarded the title of Marquess of Osorno. The new settlers of Osorno soon begun to purchase land from the local indigenous families of Catrihuala, Caniu and Colin. These purchases were permitted by local governor

, who did however claim to have prevented local Huilliche sell lands they needed for subsistence. According Mackenna local caciques sold land to purchase liquour. Osorno owes its legacy to fairly recent Chilean settlement, when the government subdued the region's indigenous

peoples in the mid-19th century and opened the land to Chilean and European immigration soon to follow. A large percentage of locals in Osorno are descendants of Spanish (the livestock grazing industry owes its foundation to the Basques) and other European immigrants. Portrait of Ambrosio O'Higgins (18th-19th century)

Portrait of Ambrosio O'Higgins (18th-19th century)

Around 1850, the government of Chile began inviting German settlers to the colony to promote growth in the region; the settlers found Osorno's climate and geography to be very similar to their own. It continues to have a thriving German secondary school. With their help, Osorno was made the home of the National Cattle ranch of Chile, boosting the regional economy significantly. Present-day Osorno has preserved 19th century architecture and urban layout, represented by six picturesque houses which have been designated national monuments. Osorno has a long history of rivalry with

, and in a 2006 referendum, the

rejected its proposed incorporation into the new

Los Ríos Region The Los Ríos Region (Spanish: ''Región de Los Ríos'', , ''Region of the Rivers'') is one of Chile's 16 regions, the country's first-order administrative divisions. Its capital is Valdivia. It began to operate as a region on October 2, 2007 ...

, of which Valdivia is now the capital. In 2019 the water supply system of Osorno was contaminated with 1,100 liters of petrol ushering an sanitary and environmental crisis. The crisis led to the water supply system of Osorno to be shut down from July 10 to July 21. The oil spill also effected Rahue River. ESSAL, the private company in charge of the water supply of Osorno, did not specify the reason for the shut down in the first communique. The government announced that President

Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique OMCh (; born 1 December 1949) is a Chilean billionaire businessman and politician who served as president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic polit ...

had canceled a visit to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to instead solve the crisis in Osorno. Opposition deputy Emilia Nuyado denounced a

media circus Media circus is a colloquial metaphor, or idiom, describing a news event for which the level of media coverage—measured by such factors as the number of reporters at the scene and the amount of material broadcast or published—is perceived to ...

on behalf of the government after the water shortage continued following Piñera's visit to the city. Inhabitants of the city went to streets of Osorno to protest calling for the cancellation of ESSAL's water supply concession. ESSAL was to give total discount of 63,250 Chilean pesos (2019) to each of the 47,519 affected clients. In a popular consultation held in Osorno following the

2019 Chilean protests Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

over 90% of the participants voted to end ESSAL's concession. Results are however not binding.

Climate

Osorno has an oceanic climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfb'') with a drying trend in summer. Winters are cool but mild with a July average of . Most of the precipitation falls during this time of the year with May to July being the wettest months, averaging around to of precipitation and humidity is high, averaging around 85%. Snowfalls are rare. Summers are drier and mild with a January average of and during this time, precipitation is lower, averaging in January. In some years, many days can go without a day of precipitation such as the case in 1992 when only of precipitation was recorded in January while in other years, some summers can have several wet days in a row. Temperatures can occasionally exceed anytime from December to March. The average annual precipitation is and there are 173 days with measureable precipitation. The record high was in February 2019 and the record low was in July 1954.

The city

Plaza de armas de Osorno en temporada navideña de 2006

Osorno sits in sight of Volcán Osorno, an active but minor volcano. The city's most prominent geographical feature is the Rahue River that runs north–south through its center. A smaller stream breaks off as well, running east before turning south and giving the city some natural boundaries. Located near the river front on the east side is the city's heart, the

Plaza de Armas The ''Plaza de Armas'' (literally Weapons Square, but better translated as Parade Square or parade ground) is the name for Latin American main squares. In the central region of Mexico this space is known as El Zócalo and in Central America as ...

, a large, one-block park with fountains, benches, and tree-lined avenues. On the park's east side is ''

La Catedral La Catedral was a personal prison overlooking the city of Medellín, in Colombia. The prison was built to specifications ordered by Medellín Cartel leader Pablo Escobar, under a 1991 agreement with the Colombian government in which Escobar w ...

'' of

Saint Matthew Matthew the Apostle,, shortened to ''Matti'' (whence ar, مَتَّى, Mattā), meaning "Gift of YHWH"; arc, , Mattai; grc-koi, Μαθθαῖος, ''Maththaîos'' or , ''Matthaîos''; cop, ⲙⲁⲧⲑⲉⲟⲥ, Mattheos; la, Matthaeus a ...

, one of the city's major landmarks, notable for its modern architecture. The cathedral serves as

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metropo ...

of the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Diocese of Osorno. Along the south side is

Avenue, the city's major city centre street. Other points of interest are the main campus of the Universidad de Los Lagos and the Osorno Rodeo Stadium. The recently opened

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

''Plaza Sol de los Lagos'' is a new popular attraction for tourists and locals alike. Osorno hosts a number of annual celebrations. The ''Festival de la Carne y la Leche'' (Milk and Meat Festival) is a music festival held annually in late January, features performances by national music pop singers and bands. The ''Festival del Folklore Campesino'' (Country Folk Festival) held annually in mid-January, features performances of regional music folk artists. Another celebration is the ''Feria Ganadera Sago Fisur'' (Sago-Fisur Cattle Fair) held annually in early November, hosted by the largest ranch in the area highlights the current state of agricultural activity. Fireworks displays are held every year around the city on 18 September, the Chilean national Day, commemorating independence from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Osorno is also a gateway for many tourist attractions.

Puyehue National Park Puyehue National Park () is located in the Andes mountain range, in Los Ríos and Los Lagos regions of Chile formerly referred to as the 10th region. The park boast 220,000 acres of natural thermal springs, volcanoes, and evergreen forests, afte ...

is a major attraction, with pristine lakes, forests, and game preserves. The volcanic area provides natural hot springs, now the site of the Aguas Calientes spa. ''Puyehue Hot Springs'' is adjacent to the park. Los Lagos Region was named for the many lakes in the area, many of which have tourist-friendly yet isolated beaches; closest to Osorno are Puyehue and Rupanco.Turistel
map foun

Antillanca ski resort Antillanca is a ski resort in the Puyehue National Park in southern Chile. It is on the slope of the Casablanca Volcano. The nearest city is Osorno, 98 kilometers away. Image:DonPedro Antillanca.jpg, View from Antillanca ski resort, Puntiagudo ...

, less than a hundred kilometers away, is one of the highest-quality resorts in Chile. Ecotourism is also encouraged by the indigenous

communities, who inhabit the Pacific coastal zone. Much of the funds brought in by tourism is being used to protect native plant and tree species, most notably the Alerce, a threatened Cypress. The thick forests open onto a number of beaches and bays, such as Maicolpué, Bahía Mansa and Pucatrihue.

Sports

Football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

are popular sports in the city. Osorno fields a football team,

Provincial Osorno Provincial Osorno is a association football, football club based in Osorno, Chile, Osorno, Los Lagos Region, Chile. The club is currently playing at the fourth tier of the Chilean football system, the Chilean Tercera División, Tercera División ...

, in the Fourth level national football league. Provincial Osorno plays home games at the Estadio Ruben Marcos Peralta, which has a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 10,000. Osorno's professional basketball team in the top level National Basketball League is called Osorno Básquetbol. Their home games are held at the ''Gimnasio María Gallardo'', which has a

of almost 4,500. Chilean rodeo is popular in Osorno, as it is in most of the center-south zone of the country. Osorno's rodeo stadium, the Medialuna de Osorno, is considered one of the bests in the country, and was the qualifying arena for the southern region of the national rodeo in 2006.

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

is also one of the city's pastimes; Osorno produced Chile's boxing representative at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

, Martín Vargas. Additionally, the mountainous terrain surrounding Osorno is used for

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

and snowboarding, sports popularized by the large tide of German immigrants. It is the closest city to the

, only 98 km away.

Economy

Osorno is an important agricultural center, and agriculture makes up the bulk of the Osorno province's economic activity.

Wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

and

oats The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human co ...

grow abundantly, but the land is also well-suited to the breeding of Chilean horses and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

. Some of Chile's finest beef products originate in the Osorno ranches. Osorno's proximity to the Cardenal Antonio Samoré Pass makes it a key place the national economy. The mountain pass connects Osorno to the

city of Bariloche, and is one of primary arteries that ties the two countries' southern regions together. The pass is particularly important due to the fact that it crosses the

mountains at very low altitude, allowing it to remain open even when other passes are blocked by snow. Despite all this, Osorno has seen some economic stagnation in the past several decades. Agriculture alone has not allowed it to keep pace with the booming, rapidly industrializing Chilean economy; Osorno lacks both industrial and information-services sectors. In one effort to combat this, the city has forged international business ties with several

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

companies, after it was discovered that the local climate is ideal for the growing of

tulip Tulips (''Tulipa'') are a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs). The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly coloured, generally red, pink, yellow, or white (usually in warm ...

s. Likewise, Osorno has recently entered the international meat market. Besides offering high-quality beef, the isolated region is also completely free of the recent rash of cattle plagues such as

Mad Cow Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and invariably fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of t ...

and foot-and-mouth disease, guaranteeing the safety of Chilean meats. Osorno is now faced with a unique opportunity: the arable land is suited for the growing of beets, soy, and corn, crops rising in popularity with the recent development of biocombustibles: fuels derived from crops, such as corn-derived

ethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a ...

. It is hoped that the Chilean government's announcement that it will not apply the same steep taxes to agricultural fuels as it does to petroleum products, as well as the increasing demand for more environment-friendly fuels, will mean that Osorno will again become a major economic hub. As Chile continues to develop as one of South America's economic leaders and one of the most stable states in the region, tourism is on the rise, and visitors are attracted by Osorno's natural environment and old-European atmosphere. Plaza de Armas Osorno (Chile)

Transportation

The city is served by

Canal Bajo Carlos Hott Siebert Airport Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow und ...

, which offers 2-hour flights to

. Buses also depart for the capital daily. The Cardenal Antonio Samoré Pass also marks the city as a major gateway to and from

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Education

International schools * Lycée Claude Gay *Instituto Alemán de Osorno

Religion

St. Matthew's Cathedral, Osorno, located in the city of Osorno, is the mother church of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Osorno The Roman Catholic Diocese of Osorno (in Latin: '' Dioecesis Osornensis '') is a suffragan diocese of the archdiocese of Puerto Montt, in Chile. The diocese was established on 15 November 1955 by Pope Pius XII by means of the papal bull ''Christ ...

Demographics

According to the 2002

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of the National Statistics Institute, Osorno spans an area of and has 145,475 inhabitants (70,743 men and 74,732 women). Of these, 132,245 (90.9%) lived in

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...

s and 13,230 (9.1%) in

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descr ...

s. The population grew by 13.9% (17,706 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Notable residents

* Tomás Burgos, Philanthropist * Adolfo Matthei, Agricultural engineer. Founder local agricultural school. * Luis "Colin" Ramirez, Singer, Musician, Actor. * Eleuterio Ramírez, Chilean Army officer during de Pacific War against Perú and Bolivia. Also called Hero of Tarapacá. * Martín Vargas, Olympic boxer *

, Governor of Osorno, hero of Chilean independence. * Pablo Longueira, politician * Erik Carrasco, professional basketball player * Klaus von Storch, first Chilean astronaut trainee * Alexis Caiguan, member of the Chilean Constitutional Convention

Administration

As a commune, Osorno is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Jaime Alberto Bertin Valenzuela. Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Osorno is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Fidel Espinoza ( PS), Javier Hernández ( UDI), Harry Jürgensen ( RN) and Emilia Nuyado ( PS) as part of the 25th electoral district. The commune is represented in the Senate by Rabindranath Quinteros Lara ( PS) and Iván Alejandro Moreira Barros ( UDI) as part of the 17th senatorial constituency (Los Lagos Region).

Gallery

Image:Mirador_de_Osorno.jpg, Osorno neighbourhood from a viewpoint Image:Interior catedral osorno.jpg, Catedral de San Mateo Image:Bosquechile.jpg, Forest near Osorno Image:DonPedro Antillanca.jpg, Antillanca Ski Resort Image:RubenMarcosP.JPG, Estadio Ruben Marcos Peralta

References

;Bibliography *

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{{Authority control Communes of Chile Capitals of Chilean provinces Populated places established in 1558 1558 establishments in the Captaincy General of Chile 1602 disestablishments in the Captaincy General of Chile Populated places established in 1796 1796 establishments in the Captaincy General of Chile Colonial fortifications in Chile Populated places in Osorno Province 1558 establishments in the Spanish Empire Former ghost towns Destroyed cities 1796 establishments in the Spanish Empire