Montevideo

Also see: Montevideo (disambiguation) or Monteverde (Costa Rica).

Montevideo
City of San Felipe y Santiago de Montevideo (formerly, colonial name)
Montevideo skyline at night.
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s): La Muy Fiel Y Reconquistadora The Very Faithful And Reconquerer
Motto: Con libertad ni ofendo ni temo With liberty I offend not, I fear not.
Coordinates:
Country	Uruguay
Department	Montevideo Department
Founded	1724
Founder	Bruno Mauricio de Zabala
Government
- Intendent	Ana Olivera
Elevation	43 m (141 ft)
Population (2004)
- Total	1,325,968
- Rank	1st
- Demonym	Montevideano
postal code	10000
Area code(s)	+02
Website	www.montevideo.gub.uy 34º 53'S 56º 10'W

Montevideo (Spanish pronunciation: [monteβiˈðeo]) is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. Established in 1726 as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, Montevideo has a population of 1,338,408 and a larger urban area of 1,968,324 (2009). The southernmost capital city in the Americas and third most southerly in the world, it is situated in the southern coast of the country, on the northern bank of the Río de la Plata (also River Plate). The city was under brief British rule in 1807 and was involved in the first major naval battle in the Second World War: the Battle of the River Plate. It is also the place where the Montevideo convention was signed in 1933 by nineteen nations of the Americas. The city hosted all 1st FIFA World Cup matches in 1930. Montevideo has a rich architectural and cultural heritage, the latter including tango and candombe. It is home to the longest Carnival in the world. According to Mercer Human Resource Consulting, in 2007 Montevideo provided the highest quality of life in Latin America.^[1][2][3]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early history 1.2 World War II 2 Geography 2.1 Climate 3 Neighborhoods 4 Transport 5 Education 6 Culture 7 Sports 8 Noted local people 9 Sites of interest 9.1 Estadio Centenario 9.2 Palacio Salvo 9.3 Telecommunications Tower 9.4 Solis Theatre 9.5 Palacio Legislativo 9.6 Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral 9.7 Cabildo de Montevideo 10 International relations 10.1 Twin towns — Sister cities 11 Image Gallery 12 References 13 External links

History

Early history

As a result of its excellent location, the city of Montevideo was established in 1726, mainly as a base to defend the eastern province of Virreinato del Río de la Plata from Portuguese incursions. A few years after its foundation, Montevideo became the main city of the region north of the Río de la Plata and east of the Uruguay River, competing with Buenos Aires for dominance in maritime commerce.^[4]

In 1776, Spain made Montevideo its main naval base (Real Apostadero de Marina) for the South Atlantic, with authority over the Argentine coast, Fernando Po, and the Falklands.^[5]

At different periods of their history, Montevideo and Buenos Aires had resisted successfully the attacks of the fleets and armies of many European nations. The city fell under heavy British influence from the early 19th century until the early 20th century as a way to circumvent Argentine and Brazilian commercial control. In the year 1811, the forces deployed by the Junta Grande of Buenos Aires and the gaucho forces led by José Artigas had started a siege to the city of Montevideo, which had refused to obey the directives of the new authorities after the May Revolution. The siege had been lifted at the end of that year, when the military situation started to deteriorate in the Upper Peru.^[4] It was briefly occupied by Britain in 1807, and it was repeatedly besieged by Blanco leader Manuel Oribe and Argentine dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas between 1838 and 1851. Between 1878 and 1911, British-owned railway companies built an extensive railway network linking the city and its port to the countryside.

World War II

During World War II, a famous incident involving the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee took place in Punta del Este, 200 kilometres (120 mi) from Montevideo. After the Battle of the River Plate with the Royal Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy on December 13, 1939, the Graf Spee retreated to Montevideo's port, which was considered neutral at the time. To avoid risking the crew in what he thought would be a losing battle, Captain Hans Langsdorff scuttled the ship on December 17. Langsdorff committed suicide two days later.

On 10 February 2006, the eagle figurehead of the Admiral Graf Spee was salvaged.^[6] To protect the feelings of those still sensitive to Nazi Germany, the swastika on the figurehead was covered as it was pulled from the water.^[7]

Geography

Montevideo is situated on the south coast of Uruguay, along the Atlantic Ocean. The geographic coordinates are 34.5° S, 56°W. Despite the average elevation of 43 m (141 ft), Montevideo has extensive beaches and seaport areas at the waterfront, characterized by the Rambla of Montevideo.

18 de Julio is the city's main avenue and extends from the Plaza Independencia, which is the junction between the Ciudad Vieja (the historical quarter) and the rest of the city, to the boundary between the neighborhoods of Cordón and Parque Batlle.

Climate

Montevideo enjoys a humid subtropical climate with cool winters, warm summers and volatile springs with numerous thunderstorms. Rainfall is regular and evenly spread throughout the year.

Climate data for Montevideo
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	28 (82)	28 (82)	26 (79)	22 (72)	18 (64)	15 (59)	14 (57)	15 (59)	17 (63)	20 (68)	23 (73)	26 (79)	21 (69.8)
Average low °C (°F)	17 (63)	16 (61)	15 (59)	12 (54)	9 (48)	6 (43)	6 (43)	6 (43)	8 (46)	9 (48)	12 (54)	15 (59)	10.9 (51.7)
Precipitation mm (inches)	74 (2.91)	66 (2.6)	99 (3.9)	99 (3.9)	84 (3.31)	81 (3.19)	74 (2.91)		76 (2.99)	66 (2.6)	74 (2.91)	79 (3.11)
Source: [8]

Neighborhoods

Ciudad Vieja Centro Barrio Sur Aguada Villa Muñoz Cordón Palermo Parque Rodó Tres Cruces La Comercial Larrañaga La Blanqueada Parque Batlle, Villa Dolores Pocitos Punta Carretas Unión Buceo Malvín Malvín Norte Parque Guaraní, Las Canteras Punta Gorda

Carrasco Carrasco Norte Bañados de Carrasco Flor de Maroñas Maroñas Villa Española Ituzaingó Pérez Castellanos Mercado Modelo, Bolivar Brazo Oriental Jacinto Vera, La Figurita Reducto Capurro, Bella Vista Prado Atahualpa Peñarol Belvedere La Teja Tres Ombúes, Pueblo Victoria Cerro, La Paloma

Pajas Blancas Paso de la Arena Nuevo París Conciliación Sayago Piedras Blancas Colón Centro y Noroeste Lezica, Melilla Colón Sudeste, Abayubá Manga, Toledo Chico Casavalle Cerrito Las Acacias Jardines del Hipódromo Lavalleja, 40 Semanas Manga Punta de Rieles, Bella Italia Villa García, Manga Rural

Transport

The D.N.T. is the office in charge of the organization and development of the transport infrastructure ^[9]

• Air
  • Montevideo is served by Carrasco International Airport.^[10] (MVD)
  • Melilla Airport. Private airport and minor charter companies

• Sea
  • Port of Montevideo. Cargo and Passengers.^[11]
  • Several minor sport ports

• Land
  • Bus central station ^[12]
  • Highway system connecting with the rest of the country
  • Rail system, check A.F.E. (national rail Company) ^[13]

Education

• University of the Republic, Uruguay
• Stella Maris College (Montevideo)
• The British Schools of Montevideo
• ORT Uruguay
• Instituto Alfredo Vásquez Acevedo
• Instituto Preuniversitario JUAN XXIII
• Lycée Français de Montevideo
• Escuela Brasil (Montevideo)
• Liceo Joaquín Suárez

Culture

Montevideo has a very rich architectural heritage and an impressive number of writers, artists, and musicians. Uruguayan tango is a unique form of dance that originated in the neighborhoods of Montevideo towards the end of the 1800s. Tango, candombe and murga are the three main styles of music in this city.

Sports

Montevideo hosted all the matches of the 1^st FIFA World Cup on July 18, 1930. Its Estadio Centenario is considered a major stadium. The city is home to two of the most important South American football clubs: Peñarol and Nacional.

Noted local people

• Enzo Francescoli (footballer)
• Luis Diego López (Cagliari footballer)
• Natalia Oreiro (actress, singer)
• Gabe Saporta (musician)
• El Cuarteto de Nos (rock band)
• Diego Pérez (footballer)
• Maxi Pereira (footballer)
• Fernando Muslera (footballer)
• Jorge Fucile (footballer)
• Diego Forlán (footballer)
• Álvaro Pereira (footballer)
• Sebastián Eguren (footballer)
• Gus Poyet (footballer)
• Martín Cáceres (footballer)

(See Category:People from Montevideo for many more.)

Sites of interest

Estadio Centenario

The stadium was built between 1929 and 1930 to host the 1930 FIFA World Cup, as well as to commemorate the centennial of Uruguay's first constitution. It is listed by FIFA as one of the football world's classic stadiums, along with the likes of Maracanã, Wembley Stadium, San Siro, Estadio Azteca, and Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.^[14]

The Uruguayan national team has always been a threat when playing in their home stadium, consistently beating top teams. Even the top ranked Brazil national football team has only managed 3 wins in 20 opportunities, although only one was an official match. Because of the Centenario's location next to other smaller stadiums, when Central Español and Miramar Misiones play home matches simultaneously, one can watch all three games from the top of the Amsterdam stand.

Palacio Salvo

Palacio Salvo is a building located at the intersection of 18 de Julio Avenue and Plaza Independencia, designed by the architect Mario Palanti, an Italian immigrant living in Buenos Aires, who used a similar design for his Palacio Barolo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Finished in 1925, Palacio Salvo stands 100 metres high with the antenna included.

It was built on the site where the Confitería La Giralda was once located, a place renowned for being where Gerardo Matos Rodríguez wrote his tango La Cumparsita, in 1917.^[15]

The building was originally intended to function as a hotel, possibly mixed with some private residential units. This did not work out, and it never functioned as a hotel. There is now a mixture of offices and private residences in the building.^[16]

Telecommunications Tower

Torre de las Telecomunicaciones (Telecommunications Tower) or Torre Antel (Antel Tower) is a 158 meter, 37 floor building, headquarters of Uruguay's government-owned telecommunications company, ANTEL, and is the tallest building in the country. It was designed by architect Carlos Ott. It is situated by the side of Montevideo's bay. The tower was completed by American Bridge and other design/built consortium team members on March 15, 2000.

Solis Theatre

Teatro Solís is Uruguay's oldest theatre. It was built in 1856 and is currently owned by the government of Montevideo. It is located in Plaza Independencia (Ciudad Vieja).

In 1998, the government of Montevideo started a major reconstruction of the theatre, which included two U$S110.000 columns designd by Phillipe Starck. The reconstruction was completed in 2004 with the re-opening taking place in August of that year.^[17]

Palacio Legislativo

Current seat of the Uruguayan Parliament, the construction of this building started in 1904 sponsored by the government of President José Batlle y Ordóñez.

It was designed by Italian architects Vittorio Meano and Gaetano Moretti, who planned the building's interior. Among the notable contributors to the project was sculptor José Belloni, who created numerous reliefs and allegorical sculptures for the building.

Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral

This is the main Roman Catholic church of Montevideo. It is located right in front of the Cabildo across Constitution Square, in Ciudad Vieja. The origin of the church dates from 1740, when a church constructed of brick was built on the site. In 1790, the foundation was laid for the construction of the current neoclassical structure. The church was consecrated in 1804.

Cabildo de Montevideo

The Montevideo Cabildo is the public building in Montevideo that was used as the seat of government during the colonial times of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. Today the building is used as a museum. It is located in front of Constitution Square, in Ciudad Vieja.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Montevideo is twinned with:

Barcelona, Spain[18] Bogotá, Colombia Buenos Aires, Argentina Cádiz, Spain Córdoba, Argentina Curitiba, Brazil Porto Alegre, Brazil

La Paz, Bolivia La Plata, Argentina Madrid, Spain[19] Melilla, Spain Montevideo, Minnesota, United States Qingdao, China

Quebec City, Canada Rosario, Argentina Saint Petersburg, Russia[20] São Paulo, Brazil[21][22] Tianjin, China Wellington, New Zealand

Image Gallery

The University of Uruguay Law School	Solis Theatre	Playing golf in Punta Carretas. Montevideo has a golf course within the city	Kitesurfing in Ramírez Beach, Mercosur's Pro Tempore Secretariat Building in the background. Even in winter Montevideo is a great place for water sports.
Fountain in Montevideo (Plaza Matriz/Constitución)	Montevideo, Pocitos Neighborhood	Independence Plaza, c. 1900	A corner of Montevideo in late 19 century depicted by painter Pedro Figari

References

External links

• Montevideo official website (Spanish)
• Uruguay travel guide with particular focus on Montevideo
• Cultural Guide to Montevideo
• PRESS The First Uruguayan Neighborhood and Documentatio Agency (Spanish)
• A City Built by Us All (Spanish) (English)
• MSN Map
• photo impressions of Montevideo

Departments of Uruguay Artigas · Canelones · Cerro Largo · Colonia · Durazno · Flores · Florida · Lavalleja · Maldonado · Montevideo (City) Paysandú · Río Negro · Rivera · Rocha · Salto · San José · Soriano · Tacuarembó · Treinta y Tres

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