Victoria 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 ...

Malleco Province Malleco Province ( es, Provincia de Malleco) is one of two provinces in the southern Chilean region of La Araucanía (IX). Its population as of the 2017 census is 205,124, and it covers an area of . The provincial capital is the city of Angol. ...

La Araucanía Region LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

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 is the second most populous city in the

, and is the gateway to the area known as Araucanía Andina, with attractions such as the

Tolhuaca National Park Tolhuaca National Park () is a Protected Area created on October 16, 1935, in an area of 3,500 ha that was previously part of the Malleco National Reserve. In 1985, a second section of Malleco National Reserve was also made part of the national ...

, the Tolhuaca Hot Springs, Malalcahuello National Reserve, and the communes of Curacautín and Lonquimay. The climate is influenced by the vicinity of the

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American ...

in Chile.

History

Victoria was founded in 1881 by Bernardo Muñoz Vargas by order of General Gregorio Urrutia, on a plateau overlooking the Traiguén River valley.

The beginning

Initially when founded in 1881, the city was very poor: consisting of only a few huts and some trade - mainly for the garrison of the fort. Swiss settle came to Victoria in 1883. The commander of the fort, Bernardo Muñoz Vargas was responsible for some of the early urban planning. Creating some dumps, open streets, and a wooden bridge crossing the nearby river Traiguén. The Swiss settlers were followed by Germans in Valdivia, who established a mill and a brewery on the banks of Traiguén; and exploited the extensive virgin forest creating some sawmills.

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 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 ...

, Victoria spans an area of and has 33,501 inhabitants (16,423 men and 17,078 women). Of these, 23,977 (71.6%) 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 9,524 (28.4%) 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 1.6% (522 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Attractions

Some snowcapped volcanoes 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 ...

, such as the Tolhuaca, Lonquimay, Sierra Nevada and the

Llaima The Llaima Volcano is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Chile. It is situated 82 km East of Temuco and 663 km South of Santiago, within the borders of Conguillío National Park. Geography The top of Llaima consists of t ...

, can be seen from Victoria, forming an enormous backdrop for the city.

Economy

Its economy is based mainly on agriculture, livestock, dairy and export of agricultural products, forestry, trade and services. Its privileged location in the center of the Province, close to the regional capital,

Temuco Temuco () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune, capital (political), capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located south of Santiago de Chile, Santiago. The city ...

, permits an expedite connection with the main national routes such as railways and

Chile Route 5 Chile Highway 5 or Route 5 known locally as ''Ruta 5'' is Chile's longest route, . It is part of the Pan-American Highway. Stretch It runs from the Peruvian border connecting with Peru Highway 1 north of Arica to Puerto Montt where it connects ...

. It is also located halfway along the bi-oceanic corridor between the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

and

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 ...

across the

Pino Hachado Pass Pino Hachado Pass ( es, Paso Pino Hachado) is a mountain pass through the Andes, joining Chile and Argentina. It is one of the principal passes of the southern Andes, connecting Argentina's route RN-242 and Chile's Route 181-CH.' Transit must ...

Administration

As a commune, Victoria 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 Hugo Monsalve Castillo (ILA). Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Victoria is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Enrique Estay ( UDI) and Fuad Chahín ( PDC) as part of the 49th electoral district, together with Curacautín, Lonquimay,

Melipeuco Melipeuco () is a town and commune ( es, comuna) in Chile, located at the foot of the Andes, in the Province of Cautín, Araucanía Region. Melipeuco is from the southern entrance of the Conguillío National Park. The Nevados de Sollipulli, an ...

Vilcún Vilcún (Mapudungun for "lizard") is a Chilean town and commune in Cautín Province, Araucanía Region. The town is an important gateway for tourists visiting Conguillío National Park and Llaima volcano. The commune also includes the locali ...

Lautaro Lautaro (Anglicized as 'Levtaru') ( arn, Lef-Traru " swift hawk") (; 1534? – April 29, 1557) was a young Mapuche toqui known for leading the indigenous resistance against Spanish conquest in Chile and developing the tactics that would conti ...

, Perquenco and

Galvarino Galvarino (died c. November 30, 1557) was a famous Mapuche warrior during the majority of the early part of the Arauco War. He fought and was taken prisoner along with one hundred and fifty other Mapuche, in the Battle of Lagunillas against gov ...

. The commune is represented in the Senate by Alberto Espina Otero ( RN) and Jaime Quintana Leal ( PPD) as part of the 14th senatorial constituency (Araucanía-North).

References

External links

*
Municipality of Victoria
{{DEFAULTSORT:Victoria Communes of Chile Geography of Araucanía Region Populated places in Malleco Province 1881 establishments in Chile