Castillos

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Castillos
City
Castillos
Location in Uruguay
Coordinates: 34°12′0″S 53°51′0″W / 34.20000°S 53.85000°W / -34.20000; -53.85000Coordinates: 34°12′0″S 53°51′0″W / 34.20000°S 53.85000°W / -34.20000; -53.85000
Country  Uruguay
Department Rocha Department
Population (2011)
  Total 7,541
Time zone UTC -3
Postal code 27200
Dial plan +598 4475 (+4 digits)

Castillos is a small city in the Rocha Department of southeastern Uruguay.

Location

The city is located on the junction of Route 9 with Route 16, about 56 kilometres (35 mi) northeast of the city of Rocha. Other settlements in the area include Barrio Torres, about one kilometre southeast of Castillo, La Esmeralda, several kilometres to the northeast and Aguas Dulces several kiloemtres to the southeast along the Route 16.

Geography

Castillo is located in the eastern part of the department of Rocha. The land is low lying, located not far from the coast, with an average altitude of 44 metres. Laguna de Castillo is located to the southwest of the city, while north of it is the Cerro de los Rocha.

History

It was founded on 19 April 1866 under the name "San Vicente de Castillos", derived from the chapel San Vicente Mártir de Castillos. On 3 May 1909, its status was elevated to "Villa" (town) by decree Ley N° 3.453,[1] and on 3 November 1952, to "Ciudad" (city) by decree Ley N° 11.875.[2]

Population

In 2011 Castillos had a population of 7,541.[3]

Year Population
1908 3,896
1963 5,947
1975 7,260
1985 6,836
1996 7,346
2004 7,649
2011 7,541

Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay[1]

Landmarks

The main plaza of the town is called Plaza Artigas and there is a cemetery in the southeast of town near the junction of Routes 9 and 16. Most of the streets are named after prominent dates in Uruguayan history and heroic figures, e.g. 25 de Mayo and General Rivera.

Government

As of 2011, the local mayor is Raúl Servetto.[4]

Places of worship

  • Parish Church of Mary Help of Christians and St. Vincent Martyr (Roman Catholic)

Notable people

  • Irineu Riet Correa, politician
  • Nelson "Pindingo" Pereyra, musician
  • Jesús Perdomo, historian

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Statistics of urban localities (1908–2004) (see also "San Vicente de Castillos")" (PDF). INE. 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012. 
  2. "LEY N° 11.875". República Oriental del Uruguay, Poder Legislativo. 1952. Retrieved 5 September 2012. 
  3. "Censos 2011 Cuadros Rocha". INE. 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012. 
  4. "Inicio / MUNICIPIOS DE URUGUAY". Congreso de Intendes. Retrieved 4 June 2011. 

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.