San José de Mayo () is the capital city of the
San José Department
San José Department () is a department of Uruguay. Its capital is San José de Mayo. It borders Colonia Department to the west, Flores Department to the north and the departments of Florida, Canelones and Montevideo to the east. Its southern ...
in southern
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 and geography
The city is located at the centre of the state, on the intersection of
Route 3 with
Route 11, from
the centre of Montevideo
Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern co ...
. The railroad track connecting Montevideo with Colonia and with the northwest of the country passes through the city. The river
Río San José flows along the northeastern and eastern limits of the city.
History
San José de Mayo was founded on 1 July 1783. It had acquired "Villa" (town) status before the Independence of Uruguay, which was elevated to "Ciudad" (city) on 12 July 1856 by the Act of Ley Nº 495.
[ During the 19th century it became a commercial and cultural centre, known as "Montevideo chico" ("little Montevideo"). The theatre "Teatro Macció" was constructed at the turn of the 20th century.
]
Population
In 2011 San José de Mayo had a population of 36,743.
Places of worship
* Cathedral Basilica and National Sanctuary of St. Joseph (Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
)
* Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompei Parish Church (Roman Catholic)
* Our Lady of Fatima Parish Church (Roman Catholic)
* Our Lady of the Orchard Chapel (Roman Catholic)
Economy
Besides being the administrative capital of the department, the city is an active regional commercial and financial centre. Its economy is linked mainly to cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...
ranching, and it is an agro-industrial centre for dairy products, packing houses, mills, and chemicals.
References
External links
INE map of San José de Mayo
Populated places in the San José Department
Populated places established in 1783
{{SanJoséUY-geo-stub