Durazno is the capital city of the
department of Durazno in
Uruguay
Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
.
Geography
The city is located at the intersection of
Routes 5 and 41, in the south of the department, close to the borders with the departments of
Flores
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. The area is 14,250 km2. Including Komodo and Rinca islands ...
to the southwest and
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
to the southeast. It is only northeast of the city of
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...
, capital of Flores department.
Durazno is situated on the south banks of the
Yi River, a tributary to the
Río Negro River.
Climate
Transportation
The
Santa Bernardina International Airport is located just across the Río Negro river. While a commercial airport, as of 2021 it lacked passenger or cargo airline services.
History
The town was founded on 12 October 1821, under the name of ''San Pedro del Durazno'', as a homage to
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
ian
Emperor
The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
Pedro I, at a time when the territory of present-day Uruguay had been annexed to Brazil as the
Cisplatine Province. It had acquired the status of ''villa'' (town) before the independence of Uruguay. On 13 July 1906, its status was elevated to ''ciudad'' (city) by Act No. 3041.
[ In May 2015, Diego Traibel was elected Mayor for the period 2015–2020.
]
Population
According to the 2023 census, Durazno had a population of 40,279.
Culture
The church of San Pedro de Durazno is a landmark in the city. After a fire it was redesigned by engineer Eladio Dieste using reinforced brick.
Notable people
* Antonio Alzamendi
Antonio Alzamendi Casas (born 7 June 1956) is a Uruguayan former footballer who played as a forward.
His official debut was with the Uruguayan team Wanderers de Durazno. Alzamendi played for Uruguay at the 1986 and 1990 FIFA World Cups, sco ...
, footballer
* Bernabé Michelena, sculptor
* Margarita Martirena
Margarita Emilia Martirena Cal (born 6 June 1966 in Durazno, Uruguay) is a retired Uruguayan sprinter from 1982 until 1992. She was a South American champion and holds the Uruguayan record in the 4 × 100 meter relay and the 100 meter dash.
Earl ...
, sprinter
References
*http://www.welcomeuruguay.com/durazno/historia.html
External links
*
Durazno Town Hall
INE map of Durazno and Santa Bernardina
Populated places in the Durazno Department
Populated places established in 1821
{{Durazno-geo-stub