Fray Bentos () is the capital city of the

Río Negro Department Río Negro Department (, ) is a department of the northwestern region of Uruguay. It has an area of and a population of 57,334. Its capital is Fray Bentos. It borders Paysandú Department to the north, Tacuarembó Department to the east, Durazno ...

, in south-western

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 ...

, at the Argentina-Uruguay border, near the Argentine city of Gualeguaychú. Its port on the

Uruguay River The Uruguay River ( ; ) 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 La Mesopotamia from the other two countr ...

is one of the nation's most important harbours. The city hosts the first campus of the Technological University, beside the historically relevant industrial complex

Anglo Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British d ...

, a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, however, the Port is mainly famous for giving the name to the world renowned Fray Bentos pies. One of the biggest

pulp mill A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber sources into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical, or ...

s in the world is situated close to Fray Bentos and the Libertador General San Martín Bridge; it was the center of the largest political dispute between Uruguay and Argentina during the 21st century.

Geography

The city is close to the border with Argentina and about due north of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, and north-west from Montevideo, Uruguay's capital.

History

The town was founded as 'Villa Independencia' by Decree of 16 April 1859. It became capital of the Department of Río Negro on 7 July 1860 by the Act of Ley Nº 1.475 and its status was elevated to "Ciudad" (city) on 16 July 1900 by the Act of Ley Nº 2.656. Its current name, meaning "Friar Benedict", is derived from a reclusive priest. Historically, Fray Bentos' main industry has been meat processing. An industrial plant owned by the Societe de Fray Bentos Giebert & Cie., the Liebig Extract of Meat Company (LEMCO), was founded there in 1863. It was closed in 1979, after 117 years in operation. A local history museum opened on the site in March 2005. The surroundings of Fray Bentos were the location of the crash of Austral Flight 2553, in which 74 people were killed (69 passengers and 5 crew) on 10 October 1997. On 5 July 2015, the city's Barrio Anglo, the location of the industrial plant, was declared a

as the "Fray Bentos Cultural-Industrial Landscape".

Population

In 2023 Fray Bentos had a population of 26,967. Source: ''Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay''

Economy

2007 08 Uruguay - Fray Bentos - Anglo Factory - Old Area

In 1899 a company called " Frigorífico Anglo del Uruguay" (often referred to as "Anglo") which originated from Lemco, began making corned beef there, which was sold as "Fray Bentos Corned Beef" in the UK. Fifty years later, the company diversified into soups, meatballs and tinned fruit. During the 1990s the focus shifted to pies and puddings, and the company was taken over by the

Campbell Soup Company The Campbell's Company (doing business as Campbell's and formerly known as the Campbell Soup Company) is an American company, most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products. The classic red-and-white can design used by many Campbe ...

. In 2006, 'Campbells UK' was acquired by

Premier Foods Premier Foods plc is a British food manufacturer headquartered in St Albans, Hertfordshire. The group owns many well-known brands, including Mr Kipling, Ambrosia (food), Ambrosia, Bird's Custard, Angel Delight, Homepride cooking sauces, J. Lyons ...

. The "Fray Bentos" brand is now owned in the UK by Baxters, which manufactures the product range in Scotland. The Campbell Soup Company manufactures and sells Fray Bentos-branded steak and kidney pies in Australia. In 2008, the Brazilian-owned Marfrig Group announced the reopening of one of the factories related to the Liebig factory and the resumption of export of meat products, though at a lower volume than at the original factory.

Pulp mill dispute

Botnia S.A., a subsidiary of Finnish corporation Metsä-Botnia, built a large

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of glycosidic bond, β(1→4) linked glucose, D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important s ...

factory (

) in Fray Bentos to produce bleached

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

pulp. Production started in November 2007, and the first shipments were made in December 2007 from the port of Nueva Palmira. Investment in the project was about 1 billion

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

. Several groups raised concerns regarding the effects of this and other pulp mills on the

, which runs between Uruguay and Argentina, as well as whether Argentina had been provided with adequate notice regarding construction. On 30 April 2005 about 40,000 Argentine protesters from Entre Ríos, along with environmental groups from both countries, demonstrated at the bridge linking both countries. Afterwards ten to fifteen Argentines set up a roadblock at the international bridge to put pressure on the Uruguayan government to stop production at the factory, claiming it would gravely pollute the Uruguay River. On 20 December 2005 a

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

study concluded that the factory would not have a negative impact on the environment or tourism in either country. The paper mill started operating in November 2007.

Transportation

Villa Independencia Airport serves Fray Bentos, but has no commercial air service.

Museums and culture

Fray Bentos has an

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

Museum in the former meat processing factory of the Liebig Extract of Meat Company, where thousands of people worked. When it was shut down, the opportunity was taken to create a museum, with the original machinery, and social and cultural artefacts of the technological revolution in Fray Bentos. The museum exhibits the machinery used in the meat and extract of meat process, the buildings, an 1893 Merryweather water-pumping machine, a complete

canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although under ...

plant, a plant where the meat was cooked, a laboratory, etc. It also has a museum for the artist Luis Alberto Solari, who was born in the city. The Miguel Young Theatre is a cultural landmark.

Sports

Fray Bentos has its own football league, the Liga Departamental de Fútbol de Río Negro, established in 1912, made up of 14 teams. Among the most notable are Fray Bentos Fútbol Club, Club Atlético Anglo and Laureles Fútbol Club.

Notable people

* José Pedro Barrán (1934–2009), historian * Carlos Demasi (born 22 August 1949), historian * Federico Elduayen (born 25 June 1977), footballer * Carlos Fischer (1903–1969), politician, member of the National Council of Government 1955–1959 * Walter Pelletti (born 31 May 1966), former footballer * Gastón Ramírez (2 December 1990), footballer * Luis Alberto Solari (17 October 1918 – 13 October 1993), painter and engraver * Juan Manuel Tenuta (1924–2013), was an actor * Juan José Timón (18 November 1937 – 13 July 2001), cyclist * Lucas Torreira, (born 11 February 1996), footballer

Sister cities

Fray Bentos is twinned with: * General Artigas, Paraguay

References

External links

Botnia Pulp Products

Weather Forecast Fray BentosINE map of Fray Bentos and Barrio Anglo
{{Authority control Populated places in the Río Negro Department Uruguay River Populated places established in 1858 Port cities and towns in Uruguay 1858 establishments in Uruguay World Heritage Sites in Uruguay