The Former National Congress Building (''ex Congreso Nacional'') is the former home of the

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. Congress met in this building in central

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

until

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his death in 1973 Chilean coup d'état, 1973. As a ...

's socialist government was overthrown by

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

's military

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

on September 11, 1973. During the Pinochet dictatorship, Congress was moved to new premises in

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

; the old building was declared a national monument in 1976 and between 1990 and 2006 housed the ministry of foreign affairs. The Senate moved its offices in Santiago to this building in December 2000. On January 26, 2006 the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

recovered its old offices. Work began on the original building under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Manuel Montt Torres (1851–1861), but the construction was not completed until 1876, during the presidency of Federico Errázuriz Zañartu. The building was destroyed by fire in 1895, rebuilt, and reopened in 1901, during the Parliamentary Era. It stands on Morandé 441 near the Blvd. Liberador Bernardo O'Higgins, partially surrounded by gardens that contain a variety of exotic trees and plant life. The eastern portion of the gardens was the former site of the Church of the Company. The building has a cross within a square plan, which creates four courtyards. It also features classical

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

s with

Corinthian column The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...

s on the north and east facades. The building and its gardens occupy a complete city block, which is adjacent to city blocks containing other nationally significant buildings such as the

Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral () is the seat of the Archdiocese of Santiago, Santiago de Chile and the main temple of the Catholic Church in that country. As a Cathedral Church, it is the permanent seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San ...

, the

Palacio de los Tribunales de Justicia de Santiago The Palacio de los Tribunales de Justicia de Santiago (English: ''Courts of Justice Palace of Santiago'') is the Courthouse, building housing the Supreme Court of Chile, the Court of Appeals of Santiago, and the Court-martial Court of the Chilean A ...

and the building that currently houses the

Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino The Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art () is an art museum dedicated to the study and display of pre-Columbian artworks and artefact (archaeology), artifacts from Central America, Central and South America. The museum is located in the city centr ...

. The building is open to the public on a limited basis.

References

External links

* {{coord, 33, 26, 16, S, 70, 39, 11, W, region:CL_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title Legislative buildings Buildings and structures in Santiago, Chile Tourist attractions in Santiago, Chile Government buildings completed in 1876 Former seats of national legislatures 1876 establishments in Chile Palaces in Chile

See also

References

External links