Wulff Castle
Encyclopedia
Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar , is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Its long stretches of white sandy beaches are a major attraction for national and international tourists. The city is Chile's main tourist attraction. Known as "La Ciudad Jardín" , Viña del Mar is a Chilean Municipality located...
(Viña del Mar City Hall Patrimony Unit). Located on 37 Marina Avenue, it is almost hanging over the sea.
History
Mr. Gustavo Wulff, German saltpeterSodium nitrate
Sodium nitrate is the chemical compound with the formula NaNO3. This salt, also known as Chile saltpeter or Peru saltpeter to distinguish it from ordinary saltpeter, potassium nitrate, is a white solid which is very soluble in water...
and coal trader, as well as maritime transporter, migrated to Chile in 1881. In 1904, he bought from Dr. Teodoro Von Schoeders 1260 sqm in front of Cerro Castillo (Castle Hill), in Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar , is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Its long stretches of white sandy beaches are a major attraction for national and international tourists. The city is Chile's main tourist attraction. Known as "La Ciudad Jardín" , Viña del Mar is a Chilean Municipality located...
where he had a house built and ready in 1908.
By 1917, Mr. Wulff hired architect Alberto Cruz Montt to make the house into a castle. Eventually a new tower was added built upon some rocks on the northern side of the castle, and a bridge joined them together.
In 1946, Mrs. Esperanza Artaza Matta inherited the property, and asked another architect, José Alcalde, to transform it again. The southern tower was suppressed.
The City bought the castle in 1959. From 1960 until 1988, it housed the Museo Naval de la Armada de Chile (Chilean Navy Forces Museum). Between 1990 and 1999, it lodged the collection of the writer Salvador Reyes Figueroa
Salvador Reyes Figueroa
Salvador Reyes Figueroa was a Chilean writer who won the National Literature Prize 1967.-Biography:He was born in Copiapó to Arturo Reyes and Luisa Figueroa on August 16, 1899. His first studies are at the Instituto Comercial de Antofagasta .He travelled by the North of his country, then lived in...
. In 1995, it was pronounced a National Historical Monument by Chilean Law.