Puerto Octay is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

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 ...

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 ...

located on the north shore of

Llanquihue Lake Lake Llanquihue is the second-largest lake in Chile with an area of about , after Lake General Carrera which shared with Argentina. It is situated in the southern Los Lagos Region in the Llanquihue and Osorno provinces. The lake's fan-like form ...

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 ...

in the south of

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 ...

. It was settled by German colonists in 1852. Puerto Octay was an important port with regular traffic to

Puerto Varas Puerto Varas, also known as "La ciudad de las rosas" or “the city of roses”, is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune located in the southern Chilean province of Llanquihue Province, Llanquihue, in the Los Lagos Region ...

before the railway opened in 1912.

History

Its origin dates back to the German colonization in 1852 driven by Bernhard Philippi. Years later it became one of the major ports on Lake Llanquihue. On 22 December 1891 the municipality was established, under the Presidency of the Republic

Jorge Montt Jorge Montt Álvarez (; April 26, 1845 – October 8, 1922) was a vice admiral in the Chilean Navy and president of Chile from 1891 to 1896.L.S. Rowe, "Passing of a Great Figure in Chilean History." ''Bulletin Pan American Union'' 55 (1922): ...

.Puerto Octay, Un Recodo Alemán

German heritage history

Puerto Octay currently has a rich and varied architecture, mostly built of wood, which is the historical reflection of the colonization process, driven by the State of Chile in the mid-nineteenth century, with families coming from Germany. Some prominent buildings are the House Niklitschek, Hotel Haase, Wulf House, the current Colegio San Vicente de Paul and Werner House. What is extraordinary about this city is that despite the lapse of more than 100 years, it is still possible to assess this type of buildings. In order to preserve this architectural heritage, Puerto Octay is currently in the process of being declared a Typical Zone. This will identify a representative area of identity and history, which will be legally protected by the State of Chile.

Flora and fauna

Birds: thrush,

dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

, parrot, rooster from the mountain (extinct),

kestrel The term kestrel (from french: crécerelle, derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour ...

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

, sparrows,

swallow The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae, are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

Mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...

nutria The nutria (''Myocastor coypus''), also known as the coypu, is a large, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent. Classified for a long time as the only member of the family Myocastoridae, ''Myocastor'' is now included within Echimyidae, the family of t ...

, among others. Fish:

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

native (locally extinct),

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

Tourism

Referring to tourism in the district lake,

Lake Llanquihue Lake Llanquihue is the second-largest lake in Chile with an area of about , after Lake General Carrera which shared with Argentina. It is situated in the southern Los Lagos Region in the Llanquihue and Osorno provinces. The lake's fan-like form ...

has beautiful beaches for vacations, fishing and water sports. The most notable include Rupanco Islet, La Baja, Puerto Maitén and Fonck.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census of the

National Statistics Institute National Institute of Statistics may refer to: *National Institute of Statistics of Bolivia *National Institute of Statistics of Cambodia *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Nica ...

, Puerto Octay spans an area of and has 10,236 inhabitants (5,391 men and 4,845 women). Of these, 3,403 (33.2%) lived in urban areas and 6,833 (66.8%) in rural areas. The population fell by 7.4% (815 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a

, Puerto Octay is a third-level

administrative division of Chile The administrative division or territorial organization of Chile exemplifies characteristics of a unitary state. State administration is functionally and geographically decentralized, as appropriate for each authority in accordance with the law. ...

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 counci ...

, headed by an

alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...

who is directly elected every four years. Within the

electoral divisions of Chile Chile has two distinct electoral division systems: * To elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate, Chile is divided into several electoral divisions, namely electoral districts and senatorial constituencies. * To elect members of ...

, Puerto Octay is represented in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

by Fidel Espinoza ( PS) and Carlos Recondo (

UDI Udi may refer to: Places * Udi, Enugu, a local government areas and city in Nigeria * Udi, a place in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India People * Udi Gal (born 1979), Israeli Olympic sailor * Udi Vaks (born 1979), Israeli Olympic judoka ...

) as part of the 56th electoral district, together with Puyehue, Río Negro,

Purranque Purranque is a city in the Chilean Los Lagos Region, which lies on the Pan-American Highway about north of Puerto Montt. It is part of the Osorno Province. History The first ethnically identifiable inhabitants of the area were Huilliches, an ind ...

, Fresia,

Frutillar Frutillar is a city and commune located in southern Chile, Chilean Patagonia, in Llanquihue Province, within the Los Lagos Region, the lake district. The bay of Frutillar is placed on the banks of Lake Llanquihue, the largest lake entirely within ...

, Llanquihue,

and

Los Muermos Los Muermos is a city and commune in Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region in southern Chile. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Los Muermos spans an area of and has 16,964 inhabitants (8,939 men and 8 ...

. The commune is represented in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

by Camilo Escalona Medina (PS) and Carlos Kuschel Silva ( RN) as part of the 17th senatorial constituency (Los Lagos Region).

References

External links

*
Municipality of Puerto OctayHotel HaaseMunicipality of Puerto OctayMunicipal Public Library Puerto OctayLagoLlanquihue.com Information Portal of the communities of the Lake
{{Communes in Los Lagos Region Llanquihue Province Communes of Chile Populated lakeshore places in Chile Populated places established in 1891 Populated places in Osorno Province 1891 establishments in Chile