| Tucapel | |
|---|---|
| — Town and Commune — | |
| Map of the Tucapel commune in the Biobío Region | |
|
Tucapel
|
|
| Coordinates (town): | |
| Country | Chile |
| Region | Biobío |
| Province | Biobío |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality |
| • Alcalde | |
| Time zone | CLT[1] (UTC-4) |
| • Summer (DST) | CLST[2] (UTC-3) |
| Area code(s) | 56 + |
Tucapel is a town and commune (Spanish: comuna) of Chile, located in the Biobío Province of the VIII Biobío Region. Formerly belonging to the Nuble Province, in the Department of Yungay. Near the town of Tucapel is the Plaza de San Diego de Tucapel. The capital of the commune is the town of Huépil, moving the municipality from Tucapel in 1967. In mapudungún its name means "To seize or to take by force".
Tucapel is an old foundation in the country, originally part of the Rere Province, in which three La Frontera fortresses existed: Talcamávida, Yumbel and San Diego de Tucapel. In 1724 Gabriel Cano de Aponte transferred the population and garrison of the old fort Plaza de San Diego de Tucapel from its old site of Tucapel in what is now Arauco Province to its current location in the environs of the northern bank of the Laja River near the Andes.
The main economic activities of the commune are commerce, agriculture and forestry.