Montevideo

Montevideo
Montevideo
	City of San Felipe y Santiago de Montevideo (formerly, colonial name)
	Montevideo skyline at night.
	Flag of Montevideo Flag Coat of arms
	Nickname(s): La Muy Fiel Y Reconquistadora ; The Very Faithful And Reconquerer
	Motto(s): Con libertad ni ofendo ni temo ; With liberty I offend not, I fear not.
Country	Uruguay
Department	Montevideo Department
Founded	1726
Founded by	Bruno Mauricio de Zabala
Government
• Municipal Intendent	Ricardo Ehrlich
Elevation	43 m (141 ft)
Population (2004)
• Total	1,325,968
• Rank	1st
• Demonym	Montevideano
Time zone	UTC-3
• Summer (DST)	UTC-2 (GMT -2 (DST))
postal code	10000
Area code	+02
Website	www.montevideo.gub.uy 34º 53'S 56º 10'W

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

Montevideo (Spanish pronunciation: [monteβiˈðeo]) is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. Montevideo is the only city with a population over 1,000,000 in Uruguay. According to Mercer Human Resource Consulting, in 2007 Montevideo provided the highest quality of life in Latin America.^[1]^[2]^[3]

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.

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.

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.^{[citation needed]}

A corner of Montevideo in late 19 century depicted by painter Pedro Figari

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.^{[citation needed]}

20th century

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.^{[citation needed]}

Neighborhoods

Transport

The D.N.T. is the office in charge of the organization and development of the transport infrastructure [1]

Air
- Montevideo is served by Carrasco International Airport.Commercial flights [2]
- Melilla Airport. Private airport and minor charter companies

Sea
- Port of Montevideo. Cargo and Passengers [3]
- Several minor sport ports

Land
- Bus central station [4]
- Highway system connecting with the rest of the country
- Rail system, check A.F.E. (national rail Company)[5]

Climate

Montevideo enjoys a humid subtropical climate with mild and dry winters, warm and humid summers, and volatile springs with numerous thunderstorms.

Climate data for Montevideo
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Source: ^[7]

Education

File:Water sports montevideo.jpg

Kitesurfing in Ramírez Beach, Mercosur's Pro Tempore Secretariat Building in the background. Even in winter Montevideo is a great place for water sports.

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.