Tornquist, Buenos Aires
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Tornquist is a town in
Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...
, Argentina. It is the head town of the Tornquist Partido.


History

The settlement was founded on 17 April 1883 by
Ernesto Tornquist Ernesto Carlos Tornquist (31 December 1842 – 17 June 1908) was an Argentine entrepreneur and businessman, considered to be one of the most important entrepreneurs in Argentina at the end of the 19th century. The diversified business empire he ...
and was settled by
Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
and
Volga Germans The Volga Germans (, ; ) are ethnic Germans who settled and historically lived along the Volga River in the region of southeastern European Russia around Saratov and close to Ukraine nearer to the south. Recruited as immigrants to Russia in the ...
. Historically, the economy was based on livestock and agricultural production and was later supplemented by a growing tourism sector related to the scenic Ventana System, a minor mountain range of 195 km (121 mi) NW to SE that dominates the flat countryside. The development of the railway favored the city's future and prominent community centers were established along ethnic ties, such as the headquarters of the Germanic Society, the Hogar Funke (a summer home for elderly Germans), and the Barraca Funke.


Urban development

The city's most important municipal, educational, civic, and commercial activities center around Ernesto Tornquist Plaza. The plaza fully occupies four city blocks and contains a man-made pond on the north end along 9 de Julio Avenue. The Iglesia Santa Rosa de Lima, a neo-Gothic chapel, is situated in the middle of the plaza boasting a singular tower about five storeys tall. The layout of the historic centre, the design of the main square, the layout of its church, and the composition of the landscape, are reminiscent of German towns and architecture, a nod to the origins of the town's first settlers. The original plans for the city were prepared by Pablo Mayer, an engineer, whose work was commissioned by the city's founder himself. The city hall was designed and built by the Italian-Argentine architect Francisco Salamone in the 1930s, under the provincial government of the conservative Manuel Fresco.


External links

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Municipal website
Populated places in Buenos Aires Province Populated places established in 1883 {{BuenosAiresAR-geo-stub