Located along the Strait of Magellan in Patagonia is the areas largest port city, Punta Arenas. The city was established in 1848 as a military garrison and penal settlement. In the late 1800s it became a booming sheep town and the population grew quickly.
The downtown area, which contains some interesting buildings and museums, is small enough to explore on foot.
This is the former residence of the wealthy sheep farming family of Maurico Braun. The house was donated to the state after the death of his last remaining daughter. The interior remains much the same as it was when the family lived in the house.
The walled cemetery contains the remains of immigrants from various parts of Europe. These modest headstones are a stark contrast to the elaborate tombs and large plots of the wealthy wool barrens.
A statue at the Punta Arenas Cemetery.
An elaborate crypt in the Municipal Cemetery / Cementerio Municipal.
The museum offers information on the Salesiano missionaries who helped settle the region. Also of interest are natural history displays, and exhibits on the mountaineering priest, Alberto de Agostini, and some of the indigenous groups.
A the Instituto de la Patagonia, the Museo del Recuerdo displays antique agricultural and industrial equipment, including a reconstructed pioneer house and shearing shed. There is also a library, botanical garden and small live animals enclosure.
Visitors can wander the grounds free of charge but there is a small admission to enter the buildings.
The Museo Naval y Marítimo offers a range of material with model ships, displays on the naval history of the area, including the 1908 visit by U.S. warships, and information on the Canoe Indians of Patagonia.
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Cementerio Municipal, Punta Arenas
Cementerio Municipal, Punta Arenas
Punta Arenas
