Puerto Varas, also known as "La Ciudad De Las Rosas" or “The City Of Roses”, is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and commune located in the southern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an province of Llanquihue, in the

Los Lagos Region Los Lagos Region ( , 'Region of the Lakes') is one of regions of Chile, Chile's 16 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé Province, Chiloé, Llanquihue Province, Llanquihue, Osorno Provin ...

. The city is famous for its

German traditions German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ger ...

, its natural environment, and its popularity as a tourist destination. It enjoys a scenic location close to mountains, lakes, forests and national parks. It is located from the city 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 ...

on the shore of

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

, the second largest lake in Chile. The conical

Osorno Volcano Osorno Volcano is a conical stratovolcano lying between Osorno Province and Llanquihue Province in the Los Lagos Region of southern Chile. It stands on the southeastern shore of Llanquihue Lake, and also towers over Todos los Santos Lake. Osorno ...

and the snowcapped peaks of Mt. Calbuco and Mt.

Tronador Tronador () is an extinct stratovolcano in the southern Andes, located along the border between Argentina and Chile, near the Argentine city of Bariloche. The mountain was named ''Tronador'' ( Spanish for "Thunderer") by locals in reference to ...

are clearly visible from the lakefront. Puerto Varas is the southernmost of a string of towns on the western shore of Llanquihue Lake that includes

Frutillar Frutillar is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, 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 L ...

, Llanquihue and Puerto Octay. It spans an area of .

History

The origin of the city of Puerto Varas dates to 1853 and is named after Antonio Varas, the Minister of the Interior at the time. It was founded by German immigrants who settled the shores of Lake Llanquihue as part of a government colonization project during the presidency of

Manuel Montt Manuel Francisco Antonio Julián Montt Torres (; September 4, 1809 – September 21, 1880) was a Chilean statesman and scholar. He was twice elected President of Chile between 1851 and 1861. He was the first civilian to serve a full term as Presi ...

(1851-1861). The area known as the "Llanquihue Lake Colonization Territory" was created by the government on 27 June 1853, and by the end of 1853, the first 212 German families had immigrated to what would be Puerto Varas. The first area to be settled was known as La Fabrica, where the road from Puerto Montt and the coast reached Llanquihue Lake. Other landmarks in its early history include the opening of a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church in 1872 and the founding of the Deutscher Verein ("German Club") in 1885. The town received official status in the form of a Título de Villa ("Town Certification") in 1897. The commune of Puerto Varas, as it exists today, was formed in December 1925, when the Ministry of the Interior divided the country into

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

, and

communes 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 ...

Demographics

According to population projections from Chile’s National Statistics Institute, in 2012 the commune of Puerto Varas had 41,255 inhabitants (21,093 men and 20,162 women). The population had increased by 25% since the 2002 census.

Architecture

Puerto Varas is characterized by traditional German

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

, with houses built from '' alerce'' wood using tools brought over from Europe by the 19th century colonial inhabitants. It was designated a Zona Típica (heritage zone) in 1992 and has a number of protected buildings, including the Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de Jesus (Sacred Heart of Jesus Church). Built in 1918 on one of the highest points in Puerto Varas, the wooden church is one of the city’s iconic landmarks. Other notable protected structures include Casa Kuschel (1915) and Casa Yunge (1932).

Culture

Cultural institutions in Puerto Varas include the Antonio Felmer Museum, the Molino Machmar Art Centre, the Nativo Bosque Gallery and the Pablo Fierro Museum. Nearby Frutillar hosts the annual Frutillar Musical Weeks in January and February.

Cuisine

Puerto Varas is known for traditional German dishes, especially

Kuchen Kuchen (), the German word for cake, is used in other languages as the name for several different types of savory or sweet desserts, pastries, and gateaux. Most Kuchen have eggs, flour and sugar as common ingredients while also, but not alwa ...

, which is celebrated on the annual Kuchen Day on the first Saturday of February. Craft beers, pastries, cakes, chocolate and marmalades can also be found in the town’s shops, restaurants and cafes.

Tourism

Puerto Varas is a popular tourist destination with its distinctive German-inspired architecture, wide variety of hotels and inns, a casino, a beach and striking views over the lake to the Osorno and Calbuco volcanoes. Visitors can take part in a range of outdoor sports including kayaking, fishing and trekking, and there is a winter ski centre on the slopes of Osorno Volcano. It is a good base for excursions to nearby natural landmarks including the emerald

Todos los Santos Lake Lake Todos los Santos (Spanish for "All Saints Lake") is a lake located in the Los Lagos Region of southern Chile, 96 km northeast of the regional capital Puerto Montt and 76 km east of Puerto Varas, within the boundaries of the Vicent ...

, the picturesque Petrohué Falls (Spanish: Saltos de Petrohué), Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park and Puyehue National Park as well as

. Trips are also possible to other towns around Llanquihue Lake including

, Puerto Octay and Llanquihue. Puerto Varas is the starting point for bus-and-boat crossings of the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

, through spectacular forested mountains reflected in shimmering lakes, to

San Carlos de Bariloche San Carlos de Bariloche (from the Mapuche name ''Vuriloche'', meaning "people from the other side of the mountain"), commonly known simply as Bariloche (), is the largest city in the Argentine province of Río Negro and the seat of the departm ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The trip is best made west to east with an overnight at a hotel in the midst of the wilderness.

Education

International schools * Instituto Aleman Puerto VarasDeutscher Bundestag 4. Wahlperiode Drucksache IV/3672

Archive
.

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

(West Germany). 23 June 1965. Retrieved on 12 March 2016. p. 23/51.

Transportation

The nearby El Tepual International Airport for Puerto Montt is served by many daily non-stop flights from

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, as well as numerous flights from other cities. More than 1,100,000 passengers a year use the airport.

Administration

As a commune, Puerto Varas 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, borough cou ...

headed by an

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

who is directly elected every four years. The 2012–2016 alcalde is Álvaro Berger Schmidt ( PS). Within the

electoral divisions of Chile This article covers the electoral division of Chile, which involves two distinct systems: # Chamber of Deputies of Chile, Chamber of Deputies and Senate of Chile, Senate: Chile is divided into electoral districts and senatorial constituencies for ...

, Puerto Varas 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 Bourb ...

by Fidel Espinoza ( PS) and Felipe DeMussy Hiriart (UDI). It is part of the 56th electoral district, together with Puyehue, Río Negro, Purranque, Puerto Octay, Fresia,

, Llanquihue and Los Muermos. 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 Rabindranath Quinteros (PS) and Iván Moreira (UDI) as part of the 17th senatorial constituency (Los Lagos Region).

Geography

Climate

Puerto Varas has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(''Cfb'', according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

), with an average annual precipitation of . Summers are mild and winters are rainy and somewhat chilly.

Photo gallery

File: Centro de turismo en Puerto Varas.jpg , Tourist information centre File: Iglesia Parroquial del Sagrado Corazón Puerto Varas.jpg , The wooden Sacred Heart Church, now almost 100 years old File: Casa de madera y Tejuela, Camino a Alerce, Puerto Varas.jpg , Typical wooden architecture File: Amanecer sobre el Lago LLanquihue y Volcán Osorno, vista desde la costanera de Puerto Varas.JPG , Dawn over

File:LaBurbuja-VolcanOsorno.jpg , La Burbuja

Ski Center A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

File:VolcanOsorno-LagoLlanquihue.jpg,

and

, Puerto Varas File:PuertoVarasRainbow.jpg, A

ketch A ketch is a two- masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast), and whose mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder post. The mizzen mast stepped forward of the rudder post is what distinguishes the ketch f ...

on Llanquihue Lake, with a

rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

in the background

References

External links

*
Municipality of Puerto Varas
*
Lago Llanquihue weather forecasts
*
Puerto Varas – Virtual Reality Panorama in 360ª

how to get to Puerto Varas from El Tepual Airport
{{Authority control Llanquihue Province Communes of Chile Populated lakeshore places in Chile Populated places established in 1853 Populated places in Llanquihue Province 1853 establishments in Chile Los Lagos Region