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San Luis, Argentina

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Storefront in downtown San Luis.
The former San Luis Railway Station (1907), today a cultural center.
San Luis' average temperature throughout the year.

San Luis is the capital city of San Luis Province in the Cuyo region of Argentina. It sits beside the Río Chorrillos river at the feet of the Sierras Grandes, 762 meters above sea level. As of 2001 census [INDEC], its population is 153,322. The current mayor is María Alicia Lemme.

City information

San Luis lies on the National Route Number 7 that connects Mendoza (255 km) with Buenos Aires (791 km), parallel to the Río Chorrillos River. The other closest provincial capitals are San Juan (323 km) and Córdoba (412 km).

Points of interest in the city include the Park of the Nations, the neoclassical cathedral, a number of museums including the Dora Ochoa De Masramón Provincial Museum, and the colonial architecture. A number of landmarks honor the Argentine War of Independence, as well. Independence Park features an equestrian monument to General José de San Martín, liberator of Argentina, Chile and Perú. Nearby Pringles Plaza honors Colonel Juan Pascual Pringles, one of San Martín's chief adjutants and, briefly, Governor of San Luis Province.

Fishing in the nearby locations is also popular. The Sierra de las Quijadas National Park is located 122 kilometres from the city. The city's climate is moderate, with January and July average temperatures around 24°C and 10°C, an annual average of 17°C.[1]

The San Luis Airport (IATA: LUQ, ICAO: SAQU) at coordinates 33°16′38″S 66°21′09″W / 33.27722°S 66.35250°W / -33.27722; -66.35250 is only a few hundred meters from the centre, has regular flight to Buenos Aires.

History

San Luis was founded on August 25, 1594 by Luis Jufré de Loaysa y Meneses. The settlement was later abandoned, and was restablished in 1632 by Martín García Oñez de Loyola as San Luis de Loyola Nueva Medina de Río Seco.

By the end of the 19th century, San Luis had 7,000 inhabitants, and in 1882 the Argentine Great Western Railway reached the city on its way to Chile. The following year, work began on the cathedral. The Governor's Executive Building, designed in French renaissance architecture, was completed in 1911. The city's population reached 40,000 in 1960, and grew rapidly afterwards, when light industry and growing numbers of retirees began to migrate to the area.

Because the city is located at the part of the Sierras Grandes known as Punta de los Venados, the inhabitants of the city are called puntanos.

References

  1. ^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for San Luis, Argentina". Retrieved 2009-08-15.
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