Nueva Palmira is a city in

Colonia Department Colonia () is a department of southwestern Uruguay. Its capital is Colonia del Sacramento, the country's second oldest city. Weather Colonia has an annual average temperature of 20.4 °C (68.7 °F). In winter it has an average temperat ...

in south-western

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

Location

It is located on the east bank of

Uruguay River The Uruguay River ( es, Río Uruguay, ; pt, Rio Uruguai, ) is a major river in South America. It flows from north to south and forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of L ...

, about northwest of the departmental capital

Colonia del Sacramento , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = Basilica del Sanctísimo Sacramento.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Basílica del Santísimo Sacramento , pushpin_map = Uruguay , subdivisio ...

History

A "Pueblo" (village) named "Higueritas" was founded here on 26 October 1831 by Felipe Santiago Torres Leiva. Its status was elevated to "Villa" (town) by the Act of Ley Nº 7.257 on 17 August 1920 and then to "Ciudad" (city) by the Act of Ley Nº 11961 on 1 July 1953. The city got its name from the ancient city of Palmira in Syria (Aramaic for City of Date Trees).

Population

In 2011 Nueva Palmira had a population of 9,857. Source: ''Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay''

Features

Nueva Palmira is considered the second most important commercial port in

after the Port of Montevideo and offers docking facility for yachts. There are several beaches along its shore, like Playa Higuerita, Playa Eolo, Playa Corbacho and Playa Los Vascos, while the northern end of the city, along the shore, is a resort called Balneario Brisas del Uruguay.

Main streets and squares

The main streets are General J.G. Artigas and fellipe Fontana, both running SE to NW, converge at the southeastern end of town and join with Ruta 21 towards Carmelo. The other main street, Chile, runs SW to NE and extends to Ruta 21 towards Dolores and Mercedes of

Soriano Department Soriano () is a department of Uruguay. Its capital is Mercedes. It is located on the west of the country, south of Río Negro Department, north of Colonia Department and west of Flores Department. Its western border is the Río Uruguay, separati ...

. The main squares of the city are Plaza de los 33 Patriotas, which takes up two blocks and extends to the ''Muelle Viejo'' (Old Dock) at the waterfront, and Plaza Artigas, featuring a monument to

José Gervasio Artigas José Gervasio Artigas Arnal (; June 19, 1764 – September 23, 1850) was a political leader, military general, statesman and national hero of Uruguay and the broader Río de la Plata region. He fought in the Latin American wars of ind ...

and the main church of the city. There is also Plaza de Deportes which offers open doors sports facilities. The city has also a zoological garden in its northern part.

Places of worship

* Our Lady of Remedies Parish Church ( Roman Catholic)

Government

The city mayor as of July 2010 is Andrés Passarino."MUNICIPIOS DE URUGUAY" at the Intendents' Congress website

Notable people

* Wilson Graniolatti, football player. *

Gianni Guigou Gianni Bismark Guigou Martínez (born 22 February 1975 in Nueva Palmira) is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as a midfielder. Career He started his career in Nacional, where he played from 1994 to 2000, winning the Uruguayan league ti ...

, football player. * Sergio Rochet, football player.

References

External links

Nueva Palmira's website

Information on the city at welcomeuruguay.com

INE map of Nueva Palmira
{{Authority control Populated places in the Colonia Department Populated places established in 1831 Argentina–Uruguay border crossings Port cities and towns in Uruguay