Queilén is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and commune in

Chiloé Province Chiloé Province () is one of the four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Los Lagos (X). It consists of all of Chiloé Archipelago (including Chiloé Island) with the exception of the Desertores Islands. The province spans a surface ar ...

, in the Archipelago of Chiloé in 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 ...

. It covers a portion of the southeast of the Greater Island of Chiloé, between the communes of

Chonchi Chonchi is a Chilean List of towns in Chile, town and Communes of Chile, commune located in Los Lagos Region. The commune consists of the town of Chonchi and the following villages: * Rauco * Quinched * Vilupulli * Teupa * Terao * Petanes * Notue ...

Quellón Quellón is a Chilean port List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in Chiloé Province, in southern Chiloé Island, Los Lagos Region. It is one of the southern end-stations of the Panamerican Highway and the Pacific Coastal Hi ...

Tranqui Island Tranqui is an island of the Chiloé Archipelago in southern Chile. It has three sectors: San Jose, Tranqui Nepué and Sentinel, all with small populations. A significant part of its forest still has not been touched by the subsistence agriculture ...

and Acuy Island. For the 2002 census, the population of the town had grown to 1,912 inhabitants, according to INE; the municipality had a population of 5,138. Its capital is the town of the same name, known on the island for its beaches and views of the

Gulf of Corcovado Gulf of Corcovado () is a large body of water separating the Chiloé Island from the mainland of Chile. Geologically, it is a forearc basin that has been carved out by Quaternary glaciers. Most of the islands of Chiloé Archipelago are located i ...

and 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 ...

. It has a quieter atmosphere than the larger towns of the province (

Ancud Ancud () is a city in southern Chile located in the northernmost part of the island and province of Chiloé, in Los Lagos Region. It is the second largest city of Chiloé Archipelago after Castro. The city was established in 1768 to function as ...

, Castro and

). It was founded by Anthony Cipriano in the early nineteenth century. This community has with the Public Library No. 333, which since 2002 joined the program Biblioredes

services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...

, allowing free access to Internet and

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

services closer to all inhabitants from the community.Antecedentes de Queilén

History

The exact date of the foundation of Queilén is unknown. In 1703 there was an Arab community with a chapel and in 1771 a new church was built.

Jesuit missionaries The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

settlers, granted encomiendas in the area, gradually occupied Queilén. Between 1818 and 1821 the

cavalry

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Antonio Cipriano, explored the coastline and drew up maps, preparing the population for military resistance to the expected

an landings. In 1890, in recognition of his accomplishments, the area was named after captain Grille. It seems that the community never accepted the name "Puerto Grille" and simply continued to use Queilén.

Architecture

In 1867, Queilén was a little Chilote port with a church. Around 1924 it comprised a few houses,

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

civil registry Civil registration is the system by which a government records the vital events ( births, marriages, and deaths) of its citizens and residents. The resulting repository or database has different names in different countries and even in diffe ...

and state schools. In 1937 a fire destroyed 15 houses, this, added to the isolation of the community, contributed to emigration towards Castro and

. There was a gradual degeneration of the visual quality of the town, which is now being reversed by the incentive of tourism.

Demographics

According to the 2002

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of the National Statistics Institute, Queilén spans an area of and has 5,138 inhabitants (2,663 men and 2,475 women). Of these, 1,912 (37.2%) lived in

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

s and 3,226 (62.8%) 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 are typically desc ...

s. The population grew by 3.8% (186 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Services

Queilen city have basic services like hotel, cash dispenser, hospital, cultural center, museum, library, gas station, restaurants, supermarkets, telephone service, police office, aerodrome, port and pier.

Administration

As a commune, Queilén 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 2008-2012 alcalde is Carlos Gómez Miranda ( PDC). 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 ...

, Queilén 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 Gabriel Ascencio (PDC) and Alejandro Santana ( RN) as part of the 58th electoral district, (together with Castro,

Quemchi Quemchi is a Chilean town and commune in Los Lagos Region, in Chiloé Province, on the eastern shore of Chiloé Island. It acquired reputation because the famous Chilean writer Francisco Coloane was born near the town. The town is served by Q ...

Dalcahue Dalcahue is a port city and a commune in Chiloé Province, on Chiloé Island, Los Lagos Region, Chile. Demographics According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute, the Dalcachue commune spans an area of and had 10,693 inhab ...

Curaco de Vélez Curaco de Vélez is a Chilean Communes of Chile, commune in Chiloé Archipelago which is part of Chiloé Province and Los Lagos Region. The commune is located in western Quinchao Island while the eastern part is administered by the commune of Quin ...

, Quinchao, Puqueldón,

Chaitén Chaitén (, ) is a Chilean List of towns in Chile, town, Communes of Chile, commune and former capital of the Palena Province in Los Lagos Region. The town is north of the mouth of Yelcho River, on the east coast of the Gulf of Corcovado. The town ...

Hualaihué Hualaihué () is a Chilean commune located in Palena Province, Los Lagos Region. The communal capital is the town of Hornopirén. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Hualaihué spans an area of and h ...

, Futaleufú and Palena). 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

Hotel Yatehue

External links

*
Municipality of QueilénHotel Yatehue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Queilen Llanquihue Province Communes of Chile Populated places in Chiloé Province 1778 establishments in the Spanish Empire