San Nicolás de los Arroyos

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Coordinates: 33°19′S 60°13′W / -33.317, -60.217
San Nicolás de los Arroyos
San Nicolás de los Arroyos Location in Argentina
San Nicolás de los Arroyos Location in Buenos Aires Province
Country	Argentina
Province	Buenos Aires
Partido	San Nicolás
Founded	April 14, 1748
Elevation	17 m (56 ft)
Population (2001 census [INDEC])
- Total	137,867
CPA Base	B 2900
Area code(s)	+54 3461

San Nicolás de los Arroyos (usually shortened to San Nicolás) is a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the western shore of the Paraná River, 61 km from Rosario. It has about 138,000 inhabitants (2001 census [INDEC]). It is the head town of the partido of the same name. The citizens call it Maria´s City, because it is claimed that The Virgen María appeared several times to one of its citizens and transmitted her messages.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Education
4 Cultural life
5 Notable natives
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

San Nicolás de los Arroyos was founded on 14 April 1748 by Rafael de Aguiar, who gave it its name to honour Saint Nicholas of Bari, now patron of the city.

The closeness to the border between Buenos Aires and two other large provinces made the city a natural stage for the struggle between federalist and Unitarians forces in mid-19th century. The agreement between thirteen provinces on 31 May 1852, which ratified the Federal Pact and called for a Constitutional Assembly sponsored by Justo José de Urquiza, was signed in this town, and became known as Acuerdo de San Nicolás de los Arroyos.

[edit] Geography

Entrance to the city

The city is located in the north-east of the province of Buenos Aires, 240 km from Buenos Aires City, within the so-called Industrial Corridor that goes from Greater Rosario to La Plata. Its limits are: to the west, Pergamino; to the south, Ramallo; to the east, with the Paraná River, which separates it from the province of Entre Ríos; and to the north, with the Arroyo del Medio, a small river that separates it from the province of Santa Fe. Its main accesses are in the north-south axis: the Rosario-Buenos Aires Highway, and the Nuevo Central Argentino railroad.

San Nicolás has an important port on the Paraná, able to service large cargo ships. The railway system has passenger and cargo stations, the latter reaching up to the port.

[edit] Education

The city has 43 kindergarten institutions, 58 schools of Elementary Education, 28 of High-school level (both public and private), 26 schools for adults and a large number of tertiary studies institutes.

[edit] Cultural life

Santuario de Nuestra Señora del Rosario de San Nicolás

There are many cultural institutions, being the most important the one related to the Teatro Municipal "Rafael de Aguiar", founded on August 10th, 1908 and it is designed as a smaller model of the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Among the many libraries in the city, the oldest and largest is the Biblioteca Popular "Rafael de Aguiar", founded in 1947 by Juana Couretot de Guella.

[edit] Notable natives

Health Minister Ginés González García [1]
Journalist and short story writer Manuel Peyrou (1902–1974) [2]
Revolutionary and guerrilla leader Enrique Gorriarán Merlo (1942–2006)
Members of the folk music band Los Arroyeños [3]
Football player Leo Franco
Former football players Héctor Baley, Patricio Hernández, Rubén Pagnanini, Omar Sivori, Andrés Guglielminpietro, Nelson Vivas and Bruno Marioni

[edit] References

This article draws material from the corresponding article in the Spanish Wikipedia.
Municipal information: Municipal Affairs Federal Institute (IFAM), Municipal Affairs Secretariat, Ministry of Interior, Argentina.
Ministry of Education - Acuerdo de San Nicolás.