Osorno was founded in 1553 to be later abandoned in 1604 due to the harassment of the Mapuche who whipped the area to the south of the river Bio Bio during four years.
After settling peace with the Mapuche, in 1972 the remains of the city were found, and it was refounded in 1796.
In 1793 the fort Reina María Luisa was built in homage to the wife of King Charles V of Spain, by an order of Don Ambrosio O´Higgins, who used it as his personal residence until 1976, and then don Juan Mackena during repopulation.
Today some 95.000 inhabitants live in this city, with a central part of typical buildings with exterior arcades, characteristic of the area. |
