Nuevo Berlín (New Berlin) is a town in the
Río Negro Department
Río Negro Department (, ) is a department of the northwestern region of Uruguay. It has an area of and a population of 57,334. Its capital is Fray Bentos. It borders Paysandú Department to the north, Tacuarembó Department to the east, Durazno ...
of western
Uruguay
Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
.
Geography
It is located on the east bank of
Uruguay River
The Uruguay River ( ; ) is a major river in South America. It flows from north to south and forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of La Mesopotamia from the other two countr ...
northwest of the junction of Route 24 with Route 20. South of the town flows the stream
Arroyo de la Yeguada and to its west, in the Uruguay River, is the island
Isla del Burro. Its distance from the capital of the department
Fray Bentos is via Route 42 and
Route 2.
History
In the 19th century, some
German
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 Ge ...
settlements were created next to the river, mostly composed of farmers. The brothers Richard and Karl Wendelstandt migrated from Germany around 1850 and bought the farm "El Curupí" in the
Department of Soriano. Some years later, they bought properties in
Paysandú
Paysandú () is the capital and most populous city of the Paysandú Department in western Uruguay. Located on the banks of the Uruguay River, it is the country's List of cities in Uruguay, fourth-largest city and a vital cultural and economic hu ...
which they renamed as
Nueva Melhem (New Melhem). This new farm, with some 27,000
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...
s was surrounded by 32 "positions", 31 of which were occupied by other German families.
Meanwhile, the Wendelstandt family in Germany decided to invest in their relatives' properties in Uruguay. With these investments, the surroundings of farm "Nueva Melhem" became the village Nuevo Berlín around 1865–1868, with the approval of the brothers Wendelstandt, who requested Mr. Fridolin Quincke to design it. The task was finished by the end of 1874.
On 16 March 1875, it was declared a "Pueblo" (village)
[ and on 19 December 1974 its status was elevated to "Villa" (town) by the Act of Ley Nº 14.326.
]
Population
In 2011 Nuevo Berlín had a population of 2,450.
Source: ''National Institute of Statistics of Uruguay''
Air disaster
On 10 October 1997, a Douglas DC-9-32
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell A ...
, en route from Posadas, Misiones
Posadas () is the capital city of the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Misiones Province, Misiones, in its south, at the far north-west of the country on the left bank of the Paraná River, opposite Encarnación, Paraguay. The city ...
to Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, crashed near the town after entering a storm. All 74 occupants of the plane perished in the crash.
Notable people
* Giorgian de Arrascaeta, footballer
References
External links
Videos from Nuevo Berlín and other places in Río Negro, UruguayINE map of Nuevo Berlín
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nuevo Berlin
Populated places in the Río Negro Department
Populated places established in 1892
Uruguay River
1892 establishments in South America