Contulmo: Houses, Squares and Local History

Historic Houses in the Town

Old German houses, a plaza with memorials and a walking tour through Contulmo give the town a distinctive historical character. The Circuito Casas Patrimoniales walking tour passes through the town and includes more than a dozen old German houses. The collection of houses is itself the focus: rather than looking at just one building, visitors can discover the houses as part of a walking tour.

The Circuito Casas Patrimoniales is a useful guide for anyone who wants to discover Contulmo through its history of houses. It also provides a clear focus for planning your trip: would you mainly like to see historic houses, or are you also interested in the memorials in the heart of the town and Parque Santa Elena? Families can weigh up the different themes together and plan their stay around what appeals to them most.

Plaza de Armas and Memorials

Plaza de Armas is in the heart of Contulmo. There you’ll find a bust of Pablo Kortwich, the municipality’s first mayor, and a memorial monolith to Governor Esteban Iriarte. The two memorials commemorate different people and roles: the bust recalls the first mayor, while the monolith commemorates a governor. Anyone interested in local history will find two specific points of interest in the centre of Contulmo.

The plaza complements the story of the houses with people connected to the history of the municipality. During a stay focused on history, you can therefore consider both the walking tour through town and the plaza as separate points of interest. The houses and memorials can be explored separately, without combining them into a single route.

Parque Santa Elena and the Tunnels

Parque Santa Elena is in the town of Contulmo and covers approximately 6 hectares. Its size is a useful point of reference if you’d like to include the park as a focus in your travel plans. The La Huiña, Contulmo and Nahuelbuta tunnels are accessible from Parque Santa Elena. If you’d like to include these tunnels as well as the houses and local history, you can make the park a starting point for planning this part of your trip.

The three tunnels are listed as separate destinations; a historical date range is also provided for the Contulmo Tunnel in particular: it was built between 1932 and 1937. Nearby, the Nahuelbuta Tunnel is 1 km long. These details distinguish the tunnels without conflating them. This means you can focus your visit on the walking tour of the old houses, or also include the park and the tunnels accessible from it in your plans.

Stories on Calle Millaray

Visitors can see the Pfaaff houses on Calle Millaray as part of the town’s historic houses. The former Hotel Central was also located on Calle Millaray. It hosted, among others, the poet Pablo Neruda and other well-known figures. As a former hotel, it is part of the town’s history; its historical role is distinct from the opportunity to visit the Pfaaff houses.

Museo Dungunwe also offers a cultural connection to Contulmo: a tour there was designed to introduce visitors and the local community to the area’s history, culture and heritage. For travellers who enjoy learning about a place through its buildings, memorial sites and local history, these themes complement the focus on the old houses. The historic houses, the plaza and the museum each offer a different connection to Contulmo.

Choose the Right Focus for Your Stay

When looking for a holiday apartment or holiday home in Contulmo, you can first consider what you’d like your stay to centre on: the walking tour of the houses, the memorials in the heart of the town, the history of Calle Millaray, or Parque Santa Elena and the tunnels accessible from there. Contulmo appeals to different interests with its historic houses, named memorial sites and tunnel destinations.

Discover More Places

More places to explore: Curanilahue, Arauco, Tirúa, Cañete, Frutillar.

For the broader travel overview: Arauco Province.