Villa Gesell

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Villa Gesell
Entrance to the town
Entrance to the town
Villa Gesell (Argentina   )
Villa Gesell
Villa Gesell
Location in Argentina
Villa Gesell (Argentina)
Villa Gesell
Villa Gesell
Location in Buenos Aires Province
Coordinates: 37°15′S 56°55′W / -37.25, -56.917
Country Flag of Argentina Argentina
Province Buenos Aires
Partido Villa Gesell
Founded 1931
Elevation m (3 ft)
Population (2001 census [INDEC])
 - Total 23,257
CPA Base B 7165
Area code(s) +54 2255

Villa Gesell is a seaside village in Villa Gesell Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.

[edit] History

The town gets its name from Don Carlos Gesell, the son of German economist Silvio Gesell. In 1931 he bought 16.48 square kilometres of sand dunes on the Atlantic coast of Argentina. In that year he built a house for his family, this has now been converted into the Gesell family museum.

Carlos Gesell transformed the sand dunes by planting thousands of trees there.

Villa Gesell beach
Villa Gesell beach

The settlement gradually expanded stretching along the coastline, and today continues its growth by annexing three more cities to the south, namely, Mar de las Pampas, Las Gaviotas and Mar Azul. Villa Gesell has been a popular tourist destination since the 1940s. In January 1952 the town was visited by Ernesto Che Guevara as he set out on his journey across Latin America immortalized in The Motorcycle Diaries.

[edit] External links

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