the tower of the San Marco cathedral in Osorno
Some 100 kilometres away from the volcano is the town of Osorno. There is no real, touristic reason to stop here, but the weather is miserable, not inviting for a drive through the country side, as any lakes and volcanos will not be very photogenic on a day as today. So we decide to spent the afternoon in town, and you know, we could have done worse. Osorno, too, has some old German houses, and a pleasant centre.
the Plaza de Armas in Osorno
the main shopping street is already preparing for Christmas
the Odeon, the little pagoda on the Plaza de Armas, and one of those impressive apartment buildings in the back
one of the old German wooden houses, now the Sofia Hott cultural centre
and one of the windows of one of the other wooden houses
the Visual Arts museum, another characteristic building
and a nearby building, also painted with graffiti
This is also where its controversial cathedral is located, one calling it an architectural jewel in Gothic Revival style, others calling it a monstrous eye sore. I quite like it. Its modern 1960s design replaced an earlier cathedral, destroyed by an earthquake. With its building materials mostly wood, it fits in the tradition of wooden churches we have seen in this part of Chile, yet, its use of concrete for the outside fits in with one of my favourite building styles, Brutalism.
the San Marco cathedral in its full glory
the stained glass windows above the entrance
and the cathedral from the inside, quite spacious, and quite modern indeed
the staned glass windows in more detail
there is also building in stone, 1920s style Art Nouveau
and the cathedral is not the only modern church, this is the protestant San Francisco church
