Theme Week Chile – Concepción

Thursday, 24 November 2016 - 12:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General
Reading Time:  6 minutes

Skyline Concepción © NikoMastermind/cc-by-sa-4.0

Skyline Concepción © NikoMastermind/cc-by-sa-4.0

Concepción, in full Concepción de la Madre Santísima de la Luz (Conception of the Blessed Mother of Light), is a city and commune belonging to the metropolitan area of Greater Concepción, it is one of the largest urban conurbations of Chile. It has a significant impact on domestic trade being part of the region with most industrialization of the country and politically it has the second majority of representatives in the National Congress of Chile. Its location is in the called Zona Centro Sur (Central South Zone), in the geographic center of the country, and it is the capital of the Concepción Province and VIII Bío Bío Region. Greater Concepción (Gran Concepción, including Talcahuano, San Pedro de la Paz, Hualpén, Chiguayante, Penco, Tomé, Lota, Coronel, Hualqui and Concepción) is the second-largest conurbation in the country, with 946,000 inhabitants. Individually, it is the 11th largest commune in the country, with a population of 230,000. Concepción is the second largest city of Chile. The Universidad de Concepción, founded in 1919, became the first secular private university in Chile. The neighboring harbor of Talcahuano is the site of the largest naval base in Chile.

Concepción was founded by Pedro de Valdivia in 1550 north of the Bío Bío River. At that time it was given the name Concepción de María Purísima del Nuevo Extremo (Mary Immaculate Conception of the New End). The new settlement of Concepción was just a few kilometers north of La Frontera (The Frontier), the boundary between Spanish territory and the land of the Mapuche, an American Indian ethnic group that remained independent until the 1870s. The settlement was formally recognized by the Spanish authorities as a town two years later by a royal decree. It was given a coat-of-arms that is still in use today. Earthquakes and tsunamis, which razed the town in 1570, 1657, 1687, 1730 and 1751, led the authorities to move the town to its current site in the Valle de la Mocha, alongside the Bío Bío River; the old site lay empty until March 29, 1842, when the present town of Penco was founded. On February 27, 2010, an earthquake struck the city of Concepción, killing more than 521 people and injuring thousands nationwide. Following the earthquake, geologists relying on global positioning satellite (GPS) data concluded that the city had been displaced roughly 3 meters (9.8 feet) to the west as a result of the event. Fortunately, the city avoided the tsunami that followed the earthquake.

Skyline Concepción © NikoMastermind/cc-by-sa-4.0 Sculpture 'Homage to the spirit of the founders of the University of Concepción' © Tomás Ravassa Coronel/cc-by-3.0 Catedral de la Santísima Concepción © Jesscode/cc-by-3.0 Casa del Arte (art museum) at Universidad de Concepción © Gherm/cc-by-sa-3.0 The campanile of the Universidad de Concepción © Farisori/cc-by-sa-3.0
<
>
Sculpture 'Homage to the spirit of the founders of the University of Concepción' © Tomás Ravassa Coronel/cc-by-3.0
Historically characterized by a strong manufacturing industry, Concepión has also been a major center for distribution and services and the financial basis of the regional economy. Trade in the city is concentrated in the Plaza Independencia (Independence Square), the pedestrian street Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga (built in 1981), and along the major avenues. One such avenue is the Diego Barros Arana street which has developed into the commercial center of the city and the region was until 1907 even known as calle Comercio (“Commerce Street”). New commercial centers are being developed around the old central station and the new civic district as a part of the Chilean bicentennial. A considerable percentage of local trade is taking place in settlements around the city, where there are bustling shopping centers, such as Mall Plaza del Trébol, and where there is a constant commercial development. Other commercial spots, related to food, are the Vega Monumental and Mercado Central de Concepción (Central Market of Concepción) places offering various services and agricultural and livestock products.

Concepción is considered to be the “capital of Chilean rock”, since numerous bands of this genre have been founded in this city, such as the internationally recognized bands Los Tres and Los Bunkers, and the now missing Emociones Clandestinas and Santos Dumont, or heavier rock bands such as Machuca. Also, known musicians have declared that their first massive presentations have been in this city, as is the case of Los Prisioneros. Concepción is also known as “the university city“, for the number of universities that exist and which also represent an alternative to various regions of Chile. This is why there is a feedback effect in Concepción, due to that the city is formed by many young adults coming from other places of Chile. This makes the city to be characterized by a youth culture such as music, art, social demands, etc.

Here you can find the complete Overview of all Theme Weeks.

Read more on Concepción, chile.travel – Concepción, Wikivoyage Concepción and Wikipedia Concepción. Learn more about the use of photos. To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.




Recommended posts:

Share this post: (Please note data protection regulations before using buttons)

Djamaâ el Djazaïr is set to become the third biggest mosque in the world

Djamaâ el Djazaïr is set to become the third biggest mosque in the world

[caption id="attachment_152879" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © competitionline.com[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]PROJECT Djamaâ el Djazaïr is set to become the third biggest mosque in the world, with a prayer hall capable of holdi...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Liguria

Theme Week Liguria

[caption id="attachment_247717" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Portofino © Pierre-Selim Huard/cc-by-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Liguria (Ligurian: Ligûria) is a region of north-western Italy; its capital is Genoa. Its territory ...

[ read more ]

Caen in the Calvados department

Caen in the Calvados department

[caption id="attachment_152705" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Downtown Caen and the Abbey of St. Étienne © DennisPeeters[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados dep...

[ read more ]

The Isle of Bute in the Firth of Clyde

The Isle of Bute in the Firth of Clyde

[caption id="attachment_184711" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Arran mountains over Rothesay © flickr.com - SeaDave/cc-by-2.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Isle of Bute is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is divided ...

[ read more ]

Portrait: The Reformer Martin Luther

Portrait: The Reformer Martin Luther

[caption id="attachment_169010" align="aligncenter" width="586"] Martin Luther (1529) by Lucas Cranach the Elder[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Martin Luther (10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546), O.S.A., was a German professor of theolo...

[ read more ]

Bormes-les-Mimosas on the French Riviera

Bormes-les-Mimosas on the French Riviera

[caption id="attachment_239411" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Gfmorin[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Bormes-les-Mimosas (Occitan: Bòrmas dei Mimòsas) is a commune in the Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region, southeast...

[ read more ]

The pilgrimage Rocamadour

The pilgrimage Rocamadour

[caption id="attachment_151038" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © François Darras[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Rocamadour is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France. It lies in the former province of Quercy. Rocamadour...

[ read more ]

Key lime pie

Key lime pie

[caption id="attachment_239654" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Key lime pie © Peter Veldhuizen[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Key lime pie is an American dessert pie. It is made of lime juice, egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk. It...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Sardinia - Quartu Sant’Elena

Theme Week Sardinia - Quartu Sant’Elena

[caption id="attachment_151613" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Golfo di Geremeas © Marco Walker/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Quartu Sant'Elena, located four miles East from Cagliari on the ancient Roman road, is a city an...

[ read more ]

Rovaniemi, second home of Santa Claus at the Arctic Circle

Rovaniemi, second home of Santa Claus at the Arctic Circle

[caption id="attachment_151848" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Santa's Post Office © Cédric Puisney/cc-by-2.5[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commerci...

[ read more ]

Bordeaux, city of art and history

Bordeaux, city of art and history

[caption id="attachment_151817" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Grand Théâtre © Christophe Finot[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in southwest France, with an estimated (2008) population of 25...

[ read more ]

Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps

Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps

[caption id="attachment_151826" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Berchtesgaden © Skyguy414[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Berchtesgaden is a municipality in the German Bavarian Alps. It is located in the south district of Berchtesgadener ...

[ read more ]

Return to TopReturn to Top