Puyuhuapi

History and Legends

History

The history of Puyuhuapi began in the 1930s at the town of Rossbach (today known as Hranice), in the Czech region of Sudeten, dwelled by German people.

Trying to emigrate from their motherland, an exploration group reached Chilean Patagonia, where the State offered free territories for those who wished to work the land. The aim was to attract workers who would bring along their families afterwards. Unfortunately, the Second World War frustrated that possibility and just some of them managed to leave Europe a few years after they settled down here.
Later on, the first chilotes (the inhabitants of Chiloé) hired by the Germans began to arrive. They worked temporarily first and then they settled down with their families, which led to the integration of both cultures.

The newly arrived from Chiloé Island were very good at working with wood and they were excellent sailors. The group that came from Europe contributed with their university qualifications and they soon made up a worker cooperative. Agriculture, cattle farming and fishing were the first profitable activities.

Back in 1945, a textile and carpet factory settled down in the area run by a textile technician called Walter Hopperdietzel. This represented a new uninterrupted employment source, as carpets were very successful from the beginning.

In 1971, Puyuhuapi was officially recognized as a village by the Chilean State and at present it has a little more than 500 inhabitants.