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Revision as of 19:08, 14 September 2007

Ray Mas
For other uses, see Montevideo (disambiguation).
Montevideo
Montevideo from the Telecommunications Tower
Montevideo from the Telecommunications Tower
Coordinates: 34°53′S 56°10′W
Country Uruguay
Department Montevideo Department
Founded 1726
Founder Bruno Mauricio de Zabala
Elevation 43 m (141 ft)
Population (2004)
 - Total 1,325,968
 - Rank 1st
 - Demonym Montevideano
postal code 10000
Area code(s) +02

Montevideo (IPA: [monteβi'deo]) is the largest city, capital and chief port of Uruguay. Montevideo is the primate city in Uruguay, the only city in the country with a population over 1,000,000. Montevideo has a privileged harbour, one of the most important in the Americas. Also, it has beautiful beaches, like Pocitos, Buceo, Malvin, Playa de los Ingleses, Playa Verde, Punta Gorda and Carrasco. Many monuments and museums cover the city, as well as historic buildings and squares. The city's mayor is Ricardo Ehrlich. According to the Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Montevideo is the Latin American city with the highest quality of life (followed by Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile)[1]. It is among the 30 safest cities in the world [2] and the second safest capital city. [3].

Population

The current population estimates for Montevideo are 1,349,000 habitants in the city proper and 1,814,400 habitants in the greater metropolitian region.

Montivideans have very strong European origins, with Italian and Spanish descent being the most common. There are also important African descent and Jewish communities.

Montevideo's population makes up roughly 44% of the entire country of Uruguay. The surrounding province of Canelones, essentially Montevideo's suburbs and direct rural area, makes up another 12%.

Geography

Montevideo is situated in the south of the country, The geographic coordinates are 34.5° S, 56°W.

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 neighbourhood of Cordón.

Montevideo
The Plaza Independencia, Independence Square.
File:Montevideo centro y puerto.jpg
Downtown and port, Montevideo
1888 German map of Montevideo

History

Origin of Name

There are at least two explanations for the name Montevideo: The first states that it comes from the Portuguese "Monte vide eu" which means "I see a mountain." The second is that the Spaniards recorded the location of a mountain in a map as "Monte VI De Este a Oeste" meaning "The sixth mountain from east to west." The city's full original name is San Felipe y Santiago de Montevideo.

Early History

Montevideo was first found by Juan Diaz De Solis. He arrived in 1516. He encountered the natives living there, and was killed by them, along with the rest of his group of travelers. The Portuguese founded Colonia del Sacramento in the 17th century despite Spanish claims to the area due to the Treaty of Tordesillas. The Spanish chased the Portuguese out of a fort in the area in 1724. Then, Bruno Mauricio de Zabala – governor of Buenos Aires – founded the city on December 24, 1726 to prevent further incursions.

In 1828, the town became the capital of Uruguay.

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. It was repeatedly besieged by Argentinean dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas between 1838 and 1851. Between 1860 and 1911, British Owned Railway companies built an extensive railroad network linking the city to the surrounding countryside.

20th Century

Independence Plaza, c. 1900

During World War II, a famous incident involving the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee took place in Punta del Este, 200 km from Montevideo. After the Battle of the River Plate with the British navy on December 13, 1939, the Graf Spee retreated to Montevideo's port, which was considered neutral then. 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 recovered. 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.

Since 2005 the Mayor of Montevideo (styled Intendente Municipal in Spanish) has been Ricardo Ehrlich, of the Frente Amplio (Broad Front), gaining 61% of the vote in the Mayoral elections, beating Pedro Bordaberry of the Partido Colorado, who scored 27%.

Growth/economy

Montevideo began as a minor settlement. In 1860, Montevideo had a population of 37,787. By 1884, the population had grown to 104,472, including many immigrants.

During the mid-20th century, military dictatorship and economic stagnation caused a decline whose residual effects are still seen today. Many rural poor flooded the city, with a large concentration in Ciudad Vieja.

Recently, economic recovery and stronger trade ties with Uruguay's neighbours have led to renewed agricultural development and hopes for greater future prosperity.

As of 2004, the city has a population of 1.35 million out of a total of 3.43 million in the country as a whole.[1] The greater metropolitan area has 1.8 million people.

Montevideo is served by Carrasco International Airport.

Template:Panorama2

World City Formation

The city shows "some evidence" of world city formation.

Neighbourhoods

Map of Montevideo

  1. Ciudad Vieja
  2. Centro
  3. Barrio Sur
  4. Aguada
  5. Villa Muñoz
  6. Cordón
  7. Palermo
  8. Parque Rodó
  9. Tres Cruces
  10. La Comercial
  11. Larrañaga
  12. La Blanqueada
  13. Parque Batlle, Villa Dolores
  14. Pocitos
  15. Punta Carretas
  16. Unión
  17. Buceo
  18. Malvín
  19. Malvín Norte
  20. Parque Guaraní, Las Canteras
  1. Punta Gorda
  2. Carrasco
  3. Carrasco Norte
  4. Bañados de Carrasco
  5. Flor de Maroñas
  6. Maroñas
  7. Villa Española
  8. Ituzaingó
  9. Pérez Castellanos
  10. Mercado Modelo, Bolivar
  11. Brazo Oriental
  12. Jacinto Vera, La Figurita
  13. Reducto
  14. Capurro, Bella Vista
  15. Prado
  16. Atahualpa
  17. Peñarol
  18. Belvedere
  19. La Teja
  20. Tres Ombúes, Pueblo Victoria
  1. Cerro, La Paloma
  2. Casabó, Pajas Blancas
  3. Paso de la Arena
  4. Nuevo París
  5. Conciliación
  6. Sayago
  7. Piedras Blancas
  8. Colón Centro y Noroeste
  9. Lezica, Melilla
  10. Colón Sudeste, Abayubá
  11. Manga, Toledo Chico
  12. Casavalle
  13. Cerrito
  14. Las Acacias
  15. Jardines del Hipódromo
  16. Lavalleja, 40 Semanas
  17. Manga
  18. Punta de Rieles, Bella Italia
  19. Villa García, Manga Rural

Montevideo,Pocitos Neighborhood

Pocitos Beach in Montevideo


Education

  • Instituto Preuniversitario JUAN XXIII
  • Stella Maris College (Montevideo)
  • The British Schools of Montevideo
  • University of the Republic, Uruguay
  • ORT Uruguay
  • Lycée Français
  • Scuola Italiana
  • Deutsche Schule
  • Public Primary School
  • Public Secondary School
  • Catholic University, Uruguay
  • Instituto Preuniversitario de Montevideo - PRE/U

Sports

Montevideo hosted all the matches of the 1st FIFA World Cup in 1930. Uruguay won the tournament by defeating Argentina 4-2, and later in 1950 defeated heavy favored hosts Brazil 2-1, achieving its second World Cup Championship. Uruguay also won several olympic medals in soccer including 2 gold medals, and has won the most "Copa America" tournaments, the world's second most prestigious tournament after the World Cup (tied with Argentina at 14 wins). Its Estadio Centenario is considered a temple of world football. The city is home to two of the most important South American football clubs: Nacional and Peñarol. Consistently since its early successes, Uruguayan footballers have been among the worlds best, recently producing such soccer greats as Diego Forlan, Paolo Montero and Alvaro Recoba, and currently boasts the highest number of world class exports to the European leagues out of any country in South America including fellow soccer powerhouses Argentina and Brazil, a surprising feat when considering the population of just over 3 million is a small fraction of most other South American countries.

There is strong world-wide sentiment that the centennial anniversary Fifa World Cup tournament to be held in 2030, be played at least in part in Uruguay, namely in the Centenario Stadium which was built specifically as the innagurational stadium for the tournament of 1930, and fittingly translates to "The Centennial Stadium."

Sites of interest

  • Estadio Centenario
  • Palacio Salvo
  • Torre de las Telecomunicaciones
  • Teatro Solís
  • Palacio Legislativo
  • Catedral Metropolitana
  • Cabildo de Montevideo
  • Mercado del Puerto
  • Playa Pocitos
  • Parque Rodo
  • Palacio Pitamiglio

Sister cities

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  1. ↑ Ranking of Latin American cities, Quality of life section. See also La Nación -Chilean newspaper article that mentions the three Latin American cities with highest quality of life according to the MHRC 2007 investigation (Spanish)
  2. ↑ Property in Uruguay
  3. ↑ Montevideo, the second safest capital city in the world at StudyAbroadInternational.com

External links

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


Capitals of South America

Asunción, Paraguay · Bogotá, Colombia · Brasília, Brasil · Buenos Aires, Argentina · Caracas, Venezuela · Cayenne, French Guiana · Georgetown, Guyana · Grytviken, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands · La Paz, Bolivia · Lima, Peru · Montevideo, Uruguay · Paramaribo, Suriname · Quito, Ecuador · Santiago, Chile · Sucre, Bolivia · Stanley, Falkland Islands

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