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Theme Week Chile – Santiago de Chile

Saturday, 26 November 2016 - 12:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: South America / Südamerika
Category/Kategorie: General Reading Time:  11 minutes

🔊 Listen to this Post Santiago, also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile. It is also the center of its largest conurbation. Santiago is located in the country’s central valley. Founded in 1541, Santiago has been the capital city of Chile since colonial times. The city has a downtown core of 19th century neoclassical architecture and winding side-streets, dotted by art deco, neo-gothic, and other styles. Santiago’s cityscape is shaped by several stand-alone hills and the fast-flowing Mapocho River, lined by parks such as Parque Forestal. The Andes Mountains can be seen from most points in the city. These mountains contribute to a considerable smog problem, particularly during winter. The city outskirts are surrounded by vineyards and Santiago is within a few hours of both the mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Santiago is the cultural, political and financial center of Chile and is home to the regional headquarters of many multinational corporations. The Chilean executive and judicial powers are located in Santiago, but Congress meets mostly in nearby Valparaíso. Santiago is named after the biblical figure St. James. Residents of the city and the region are called santiaguinos (male) and santiaguinas (female).

In Chile, there are several entities which bear the name of “Santiago” that are often confused. The Commune of Santiago, sometimes referred to as “downtown” or “Central Santiago” (Santiago Centro), is an administrative division that comprises roughly the area occupied by the city during its colonial period. The commune, administered by the Municipality of Santiago and headed by a mayor, is part of the Santiago Province headed by a provincial governor, which is in itself a subdivision of the Santiago Metropolitan Region headed by an intendant. Despite these classifications, when the term “Santiago” is used without another descriptor, it usually refers to what is also known as Greater Santiago (Gran Santiago), a territorial extension defined by its urban continuity that includes the Commune of Santiago in addition to 36 other communes, which together comprise the majority of the Santiago Province and some areas of neighboring provinces.

With the start of the transition in 1990, the city of Santiago and surpassed the four million inhabitants, preferably living in the south: La Florida was followed in population by Puente Alto and Maipú. The real estate development in these municipalities and others like Quilicura and Peñalolen largely due to the construction of housing projects for middle-class families. Meanwhile, high-income families moved into the foothills and called Barrio Alto, increasing the population of Las Condes and giving rise to new communes like Vitacura and Lo Barnechea. Moreover, although poverty began to drop significantly, there remained a strong dichotomy between the thriving global city and scattered city slums. Providencia Avenue area was consolidated as an important commercial hub in the eastern sector and into the 1990s, this development was extended to the Barrio Alto which became an attractive location for the construction of high-rise buildings. Major companies and financial corporations were established in the area, giving rise to a thriving modern business center known as Sanhattan. The departure of these companies to Barrio Alto and the construction of shopping centers all around the city, creating a crisis in the city center, which had reinvented: its main shopping streets turned into pedestrian walkways, as the Paseo Ahumada, and instituted tax benefits for the construction of residential buildings, mainly attracting young adults. In these years, the city began to face a series of problems generated by disorganized growth. Air pollution reached critical levels during the winter months and a layer of smog settled over the city, so the authorities adopted legislative measures to reduce industrial pollution and placed vehicle restrictions on cars. The Metro was expanded considerably, extending its lines and creating three new lines between 1997 and 2006 in the southeastern sector. A new extension to Maipú was inaugurated in 2011, leaving the metropolitan railway with a length of 105 km. In the case of buses, the system underwent a major reform in the early 1990s and then in 2007 with the establishment of a master plan known as Transantiago transport, which has faced a number of problems since its launch. As we enter the twenty-first century, Santiago persists in its rapid development. The Civic District was renewed with the creation of the Plaza de la Ciudadanía and construction of the Ciudad Parque Bicentenario to commemorate the bicentenary of the Republic. The development of tall buildings continues in the eastern sector, which will culminate in the opening of skyscrapers Titanium La Portada and Gran Torre Santiago in real Costanera Center complex. However, socioeconomic inequality and geosocial fragmentation remain two of the most important problems, both city and country. The 27 February 2010, a strong earthquake was felt in the capital, causing some damage to old buildings; however, some modern buildings are uninhabitable, generating much debate about the actual implementation of mandatory earthquake standards in the modern architecture of Santiago. In the coming years the development of several new projects in many areas, especially in transport is expected. Reshaping the international airport by 2012 and expansion of rail services is expected, including several projects currently under evaluation as a network of trams in Las Condes, close to trains Lampa and Padre Hurtado (Melitrén) and a high-speed train that connects the capital to Valparaíso and Viña del Mar. Two new urban highways, Vespucci East and Central Costanera, are in the bidding process, while the Santiago Metro announced the construction of two new lines; 3 and 6 to this transformation would add parks on the banks of the Mapocho river, navigable become a flagship project of Sebastián Piñera who was President between 2010 and 2014.

Only a few historical buildings from the Spanish colonial period remain in the city, because Santiago – like the rest of the country – is regularly hit by earthquakes. Extant buildings include the Casa Colorada (1769), the San Francisco Church (1586), and Posada del Corregidor (1750). The Cathedral on the central square (Plaza de Armas) is a sight that ranks as high as the Palacio de La Moneda, the Presidential Palace. The original building was built between 1784 and 1805, and architect Joaquín Toesca was in charge of its construction. Other buildings surrounding the Plaza de Armas are the Central Post Office Building, which was finished in 1882, and the Palacio de la Real Audiencia de Santiago, built between 1804 and 1807. It houses the Chilean National History Museum, with 12,000 objects that can be exhibited. On the southeast corner of the square stands the green cast-iron Commercial Edwards building, which was built in 1893. East of that is the colonial building of the Casa Colorada (1769), which houses the Museum of Santiago. Close by is the Municipal Theatre of Santiago, which was built in 1857 by the French architect Brunet of Edward Baines. It was badly damaged by an earthquake in 1906. Not far from the theatre is the Subercaseaux Mansion and the National Library, one of the largest libraries of South America. The Former National Congress Building, the Justice Palace, and the Royal Customs Palace (Palacio de la Real Aduana de Santiago) are located close to each other. The latter houses the Museum of pre-Columbian art. A fire destroyed the building of the Congress in 1895, which was then rebuilt in a neoclassical style and reopened in 1901. The Congress was deposed under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973–1989), and after the dictatorship was newly constituted on 11 March 1990, in Valparaíso. The building of the Justice Palace (Palacio de Tribunales) is located on the south side of the Montt Square. It was designed by the architect Emilio Doyére and built between 1907 and 1926. The building is home to the Supreme Court of Chile. The panel of 21 judges is the highest judicial power in Chile. The building is also headquarters of the Court of Appeals of Santiago.

Within the metropolitan area of Santiago, there are 174 heritage sites in the custody of the National Monuments Council, among which are archaeological, architectural and historical monuments, neighborhoods and typical areas. Of these, 93 are located within the commune of Santiago, considered the historic center of the city. Although no santiaguino monument has been declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco three have already been proposed by the Chilean government: the Incan sanctuary of El Plomo, the church and convent of San Francisco and the palace of La Moneda. Santiago has a wealth of museums of different kinds, among which are three of ‘National’ class administered by the Directorate of Libraries, Archives and Museums (DIBAM): the National History Museum, National Museum of Fine Arts and the National Museum of Natural History. There is an extensive network of bicycle trails in the city, especially in the Providencia commune. The longest section is the Americo Vespuccio road, which contains a very wide dirt path with many trees through the center of a street used by motorists on both sides. The next longest path is along the Mapocho River along avenida Andrés Bello. Many people use folding bicycles to commute to work.

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

Read more on ContactChile.cl – Santiago de Chile, Wikivoyage Santiago de Chile and Wikipedia Santiago de Chile. 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.

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