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 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 located in the 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 east a ...

an province of Llanquihue, 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 ...

. The city is famous for its

German traditions 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 **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 spa ...

on the 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 ...

, the second largest lake in Chile. The conical Osorno Volcano and the snowcapped peaks of Mt.

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, an ...

and Mt. Tronador 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 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 Puerto Octay. It spans an area of . Panorámica desde Puerto Varas

History

The original of the city of Puerto Varas date to 1853 and is named after

Antonio Varas Antonio Varas de la Barra (June 13, 1817 – June 5, 1886) was a Chilean political figure. He began his political career as a Conservative, but was later a member of the National Party, of which he was one of the founders in 1857. He served ...

, 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 (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 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 ...

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, and communes.

Demographics

According to population projections from Chile’s

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 ...

, 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 constructing building ...

, 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 always, ...

, 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 Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park () is located in Los Lagos Region, Llanquihue Province, of Chile. Its western entrance is close to the Ensenada locality, northeast of the provincial capital of Puerto Montt, and from Puerto Varas along Ruta ...

and

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 ...

as well as Osorno Volcano. 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 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 ...

, through spectacular forested mountains reflected in shimmering lakes, to

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. ...

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 ...

. 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") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

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

Transportation

Conveniently nearby,

El Tepual International Airport El Tepual International Airport is a commercial and private aviation facility which serves the Tourism, tourist area of Puerto Montt, Chile. It is one of the most important airports in Chile and is considered a gateway to the Chilean Patagonia ...

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 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 ...

, 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, 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. The 2012–2016 alcalde is Álvaro Berger Schmidt ( PS). 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 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 Bourbon R ...

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 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 Rabindranath Quinteros (PS) and

Iván Moreira Iván Alejandro Moreira Barros (born 8 December 1956) is a Chilean politician who currently serves as Senator of the Republic of Chile. An opponent of same-sex marriage, he accused the Chilean government of "bowing to the agenda of the left" i ...

(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, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(''Cfb'', according to the

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 ...

), 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 Nor ...

File:VolcanOsorno-LagoLlanquihue.jpg,

and Osorno Volcano, Puerto Varas File:PuertoVarasRainbow.jpg, A ketch on Llanquihue Lake, with a rainbow 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