Gualeguaychú Theatre and Casa de la Cultura

Casa de la Cultura was built in 1914 and is situated at 734, 25 de Mayo street. The building has its own architectural style that resembles the European style of that time. Designers chose marble for decoration, giving the front of the building a fancy look.
 
Gualeguaychu Theatre was first opened officially on July 14th,1914. It originally had 280 seats, a wide orchestra pit, and a wide room for the audience. The theatre always had an orchestra that cheered up the intermissions and there was also a cafe in the balcony.
 
In 1926, it was refurbished for the first time and the stalls were removed. In 1928, it was refurbished again and new stalls were added.  

On December 18th, 1981, it was declared a “Cultural Public Site”. After 1987 it was used as a cinema for some years. The building was declared a Historic Monument on February 11th, 1997
 
On April 9th, 2011 “Gualeguaychu Theatre'' was re-opened to the public after being closed for three years because it was being restored. Nowadays, it can hold up to 644 seats. 

 

By Franco Buccolo, Juan Ignacio Godoy, Franco Parada, Melina Susenegui

ENOVA's ghost

 "Olegario Víctor Andrade” Normal School (ENOVA) is an important public school in our town. Its foundation ceremony was on January 5th, 1908. Classes started with 281 students on March 7th, 1910. ENOVA's library was founded on December 23rd, 1914 and a kindergarten was created in 1939.

The school was renovated in 2011, when the indoor floors, the pavements outside the school and the ceiling were renovated. They changed all the classroom floors, windows, bathrooms, and school benches and made new ramps for people with disabilities. The assembly hall was renovated as well, the seats were restored at the request of former students and the floor was also changed. On November 15th, 2012 a video conference was held between the President of the Nation and the Governor of the province to inaugurate the renovated school. 

It is believed that the school is haunted by a ghost, as unexplainable events have taken place in the building. 

By: Casenave Julieta, Espino Evangelina, Vitale Gimena Valentina, Walle Yamila

Colegio Nacional

Colegio Nacional was originally built in 1904, and it was the home of  Luis Clavarino and his wife Malvina Florencia Seguí de Clavarino. 

Even though the main building was remodelled in 2020, it still maintains its historical essence. After 100 years of the school’s opening, the town council invested on the remodelling of the school. They started fixing it up in August, 2016 and finished at the end of February, 2020. Unfortunately, it was finished at the same time the Covid-19 situation was starting in Argentina. That is why the new facilities could not be properly enjoyed until the middle of 2021. 

Since 2018, the school has been organising an annual horror-tour, which is called Secret of The Palace, where students and teachers perform a short act in every classroom late at night. This event has attracted a number of frightening rumours towards the school.

By Etchegoyen, Joaquin; Olano, Valentina.

Hospital Centenario

The main Hospital in Gualeguaychú, which is known as "Hospital Centenario", is a major building that was built on August 30th, 1913, over an old cemetery.

It was built after a charity hospital named Sociedad de Beneficencia (Charity Society) decided to

enlarge its building. As there wasn't enough space to do so, the town council decided to donate land

to the charity and in 1909 the hospital was built by the architect Juan Antonio Buschiazzo and his team.It took almost five years to build and in 1973 the hospital added mother and child care services.

Today there is a new hospital called “Hospital Bicentenario'' next to it, which aims to offer better services and improved facilities. Due to this, some services that were provided by the old hospital are now fulfilled in the new one. In fact, some areas of the old hospital are soon to be destroyed.

By Schlund, Miqueas.

The Castle on Libertad Island

In the 20th century, the castle on Isla Libertad was once home to Maria Eloisa D’Elia, a French, calligraphy and art teacher who designed it herself and had it built by architect David Angelini.

Contrary to popular belief, this castle is not dark. In fact, it has many extraordinary areas with big windows that allow brightness in every corner. Its walls have an interesting architecture. The original design was too normal to become a beautiful sight for the town so the government made it look like a mediaeval castle to attract tourists. This old building, however, is said to be haunted by the spirit of a ghost with a terrible story.

By Andretta; Sofía, Butteri; Ailén, Capovilla; Agostina, Fraccarolli; Paulina

Lapalma Museum

 “Azotea de Lapalma'' belonged to Francisco Lapalma, who was the son of Juan Lapalma, the first doctor in Gualeguaychú. This two-storey house was built in 1830 inside a large farm located on the outskirts of the town. From the original property, only the house, the old garage and the water well remain today.

In 1978, the building was purchased by Gualeguaychu's local council in order to be a museum, but it had to be renovated as it had been abandoned for a long time. Very little furniture of the house was recovered from that time. Most of the restoration was possible because of donations from neighbours. On December 20th, 1986, the museum opened its doors with a lot of period furnishings and the house in good shape.

This house has a spooky side that you can discover in the following video.

By Abril Cedres, Florencia Gonzalez, Ailen Halter, Wanda Heidenreich, Ailen Saffre, Jael Taborda

Gualeguaychú's Slaughterhouse

Gualeguaychú slaughterhouse was a very important building in our town. It became the first national slaughterhouse to export Argentinian meat. From 1930 to 1940 the company had its best years of operation. Around 1970, with the end of the post-war period, exportation was affected by a European policy of self-sufficiency that reduced the demand for Argentinian meats. In 1986 the slaughterhouse stopped working to finally be completely bankrupt in 1991.

The slaughterhouse imitated the way the English ones functioned. Due to this, there were several rooms apart from the ones dedicated to the animals and meat, like the cold storage rooms. There was a nursery for those children whose parents were working. As employees were educated there and had to do sports, there were areas for activities such as fencing, gymnastics, football and basketball.

Rumour has it that tragic events took place in the slaughterhouse and paranormal activity has happened at the place since then. 

 By: Casenave Julieta, Espino Evangelina, Vitale Gimena Valentina, Walle Yamila 

Almeida Museum

The Almeida museum is one of the many attractions in Gualeguaychú. At first, it was a travelling museum since Don Manuel Almeida liked to navigate the river, observe animals, photograph flowers, and gather bugs to show them later, in class, to his students.

Now it is located in one of the main streets of the city and has a varied collection of fossil pieces from the region. This space of science and conservation offers different activities such as guided visits and courses.

Professor Manuel Almeida’s huge collection was the reason why the museum opened in 1992. In 2019 the museum was completely remodelled thanks to the support of different organizations.

In the video below, you can see the exhibition rooms divided into fauna, archaeology and a tribute to Manuel Almeida.


Opening hours:

Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Text and video: Lautaro Bernigaud, Martina Claus, Dana de la Cruz, Febe Rivarola Sosa. 

Cerros Indios

 "Cerros Indios" which can be translated as Indian Hills, is the ideal place for nature lovers to relax while enjoying the beautiful panoramic view of the river.

This place is located in Gualeguaychú, Entre Ríos, Argentina, at kilometer 6 Camino Ñandubaysal, 20 minutes away from downtown Gualeguaychú.

Visitors need to pay an admission ticket but it is completely worthwhile. This site offers bungalows for up to 6 people, each one with its own bathroom with cold and hot water, and some of them with a little beautiful terrace

In this place, you can go fishing and go on boat trips. Due to the landscape that surrounds this location, it is enjoyable to go camping and hiking.

When it is summertime, you can go to the beach, swim in the river and rest in the shade of some straw-umbrellas.

An interesting historical fact of this place is that more than 200 years ago, the Chaná people occupied these territories.

They were a semi-nomadic tribe who made a living by hunting, fishing and gathering. They lived near the rivers from which they obtained their basic resources. This is the reason why they made these particular hills where they built their houses to protect them from floods.

Authors: Agustina Iriarte, Manuela Fahler, Milagros Spierer Morua, Katrina Greissing

Ñandubaysal

Ñandubaysal is a beautiful beach located in Gualeguaychú, a town from Entre Ríos province in Argentina. It combines a natural environment with many facilities to enjoy with family and friends and different entertaining activities for both children and adults.

The beach's name comes from a tree called Ñandubay, which can be seen in the area. At sunset, the Uruguay river blends with the horizon, which is a view worth seeing. Two well-known rivers run along both sides of Entre Ríos province: the Paraná river, which is the longest river that runs through Argentina and the Uruguay river that has five international bridges.

The land now known as Ñandubaysal was inhabited by many native tribes before the Spanish conquest. After excavating and researching the area, archaeologists found pieces of clay vessels and pots that are thought to have belonged to those tribes. Some of these communities were the Chana, Charrúa and Guaraní. However, the ones who survived the longest after the Spanish conquest were the Guaraní. They were sturdy men and women, who had big heads with plentiful dark hair and small hands and feet. Men were warriors, hunters, fishermen and harvest pickers. In contrast, women made pottery and were in charge of cooking and taking care of children.

Magnasco Museum

It started as a library founded by Luisa Bugnone and Camila E. Nievas. Nowadays it is a museum which has different collections: books, archives, newspapers, periodicals, art and coins. The museum was first opened on June 19, 1898. It was initially called “La Sociedad por la patria y el Hogar” and then renamed Instituto Magnasco in 1920 in honour of Dr. Osvaldo Magnasco because he supported the founders’ work unconditionally. 

“Camila Enriqueta Nievas” Private Technical Training School was opened at the Institute on September 26th, 1967 and the main objective is to train people in technical skills.

There is a room which has artworks from Angentinian and foreign artists and some pieces from Bellas Artes National Museum as well as historical and uncommon instruments. You can also see a collection of antique coins and medals from many countries of the world. The museum has a room dedicated to illustrating and documenting the history of Gualeguaychú. Another room has historical documents and a flag used in the Battle of April 15th 1870. Regarding religion there are interesting images, documents, and clothes, among other objects.

Moreover, in the prestigious Olegario V. Andrade Library you can find more than sixty thousand magazines, newspapers, videos, cassettes and documents. There is also a complete collection of the newspaper “La Nación” from 1896 up to the present and another complete collection of an old local newspaper . In the historical Archive you can find interesting documents and the Golden Book which contains valuable signatures of presidents, judges, artists and recognized women. 

The Magnasco Institute is located at 78 Camila Nievas St. and the opening time is from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Monday to Friday. Today, there are recreational activities and cultural exhibitions of different kinds, as well as courses such as computer-assisted technical drawing.

Authors: Ramirez Sofia, Viale Agustina, Villalba Maria Cristina

Sources:

Barel de Franchini, Diola. Instituto Magnasco, 100 años de historia: tributo a Diola Barel de Franchini-1a ed. Buenos Aires: CM Editores, 2006. 

http://www.institutomagnasco.org.ar/?page_id=15

https://www.conabip.gob.ar/sites/default/files/Biografia_0340.pdf (March 9th, 2017)

https://www.diarioelargentino.com.ar/noticias/57883/el-sueno-de-camila-nievas-se-sigue-sonando-y-realizando-todos-los-dias (June 20th, 2006)

Almeida Museum

Biography

Manuel Almeida was born in 1915 in Gualeguaychú and was an enthusiastic collector and researcher of our land. He was a teacher who graduated from Olegario Victor Andrade School in 1943 and taught Paleontology and Archaeology History for 20 years in Sedes Sapientae Institute and the “Arqueología de Entre Ríos” course in Mariano Moreno School in Concepcion del Uruguay in 1982. He was 88 years old, when he died on July 26, 2004. 

Museum

The Museum of Natural Sciences and Archeology ”Profesor Manuel Almeida”, which opened on October 12, 1992, is one of the most popular and oldest museums in our city. It has eight thousand pieces, such as spears, harpoons, arrows, vases, masks, which belonged to the native people like Charruas and Guaranies who inhabited this area, dinosaur bones, dissected animals like turtles and birds, some fossils of extinct animals that inhabited the area and many objects that people used to cook, hunt and defend themselves. This place tells the history of the land in Gualeguaychú and its surroundings and, despite not being very big, it is well organized and you can see all these relics. In fact, one of the rooms is Professor Manuel Almeida’s office, with the instruments he used in his work as well as details about his life. Mr. Almeida's grandson is the museum guide and he tells visitors interesting stories about his grandfather. The museum was completely remodelled in 2019 and is now a space dedicated to scientific investigation, the conservation of paleontological, biological and archaeological collections, education and culture. 

Visits and tours

Timetable: Wednesday to Friday: 9am-12am and 3pm-7pm. Saturday: 6pm-9pm. 

Sunday: it only opens for programmed activities.

By Manuela Gerling, Matías Padilla and Tatiana Mantchoff.

Carnival Museum

The Carnival Museum opened on May 18th 2019. It is located in the Railway Station Park. The building was the old machinery room of the train station. Now its purpose is to restore and collect documents, pictures, costumes and many more objects that represent the history and culture of our carnival.

The museum has four galleries that people can visit. The reception is located in the exhibition hall where there are important items such as documents and costumes. In the other rooms there are conservation and restoration workshops, a museography workshop and a service area. There is also an administrative area with offices for the staff and a room for bibliographic consultation.

In one of the corners of the Main Hall, there is a section for the contemporary carnival where you can see different costumes from past and future carnival parades. This section usually changes because the costumes are constantly updated.

Next to the contemporary section, you can visit the most emblematic room; a 360° video room where you can see a lot of footage of past carnival parades. This gives the visitors a unique and close experience of the carnival culture.

The museum is open from 9 a.m to 10 p.m from Wednesday to Friday, and it is only open from 6 p.m to 10 p.m. on weekends.

By Rodriguez Joaquin, Suarez Adela and Villar Pía

Gualeguaychú's Railway Museum

Gualeguaychú has been a tourist destination for many years now. It offers visitors a wide variety of activities and tours. Among the main attractions in this 230-year-old city full of historical heritage, we can find the Railway Museum. The museum is devoted to the railway and its conservation, restoration and exposition. It also relies on its workers who are in charge of several activities: investigation, history interpretation and conservation.

Gualeguaychú’s Railway Museum was established on November 24th, 1984 and, since September 29th, 2007 it has been under the local authority’s management. Located in Parque de la Estación (Railway Station Park), the highlights of the museum are a 110-year-old Steam Locomotive which still contains all its original items, and a luxurious Dining Car which not only keeps its original seats, tables and lanterns, but also displays a considerable amount of miscellaneous train antiquities, as well as pictures, maps and a railway station model. Moreover, to children’s delight, the exhibition has a “Locomotorita”, a small locomotive for kids to have a ride around the museum tracks.

Every year thousands of visitors take interest in the museum which is in the corner of Maestra Piccini and Maipú streets. It opens from 8 am to 12 am from Monday to Saturday, and from 4pm to 8pm on Sundays and Public Holidays (from March to December it opens from 2pm to 6pm). Even though the museum has no admission charge, there is an old restored red postbox in which visitors can leave a donation which is used to maintain all the museum’s items. In the case of schools or institutions which plan to visit it, they should make a previous reservation so as to be able to make the most of it during the tour.

By Marina Centurión, Valentina Degratti and Magdalena Mondría.

San Martin Square and San José Cathedral

There are many picturesque places worth visiting in Gualeguaychú, such as San Martin Square and San José Cathedral.

In the past, the square was the heart of the town, and it was inaugurated by Tomás de Rocamora on 18th October, 1783. It contains a small fountain, a playground area, many monuments and “The Poets’ Corner”.

Opposite the square, there is San José Cathedral that had its foundation stone laid by priest Vicente Martínez and Governor Justo José de Urquiza on 30th May 1863. The original church was officially opened by Luis N. Palma, around 1890 even though it did not have the towers yet. The church became a cathedral in 1957.

We invite you to take a look at these historical places.

 

 By: Bruno Flores, Magalí Schmidt, Gian Franco Marchionda and Verónica De Luca.

Gualeguaychú's Slaughterhouse

“Frigorífico Gualeguaychú” used to be the base of the town’s economy. This slaughterhouse has been, since the late twenties, a very important part of every citizen life. There is almost no neighbor in town who doesn’t know a relative or friend who worked at the slaughterhouse. The building is still affectionately remembered and it closure is an open wound in the community’s heart.  Today, we expect to highlight this forgotten jewel that marked a turning point in Gualeguaychú’s history.

By: Anahí Denis and Florencia Maneiro

Gualeguaychú Port: A place that has influenced our identity.

We invite you to have a close look at this charming part of Gualeguaychú.

At a certain time the Port of Gualeguaychú was very busy with foreign trade activity. In addition to that, it was the gateway for immigrants. Nowadays, the Port has become an attraction and is still linked to the development of the town, now associated with tourism and culture.

The warehouses or “Galpones del Puerto” are located in the heart of the port with an incredible view of a castle opposite, on Liberty Island. The warehouses are used for many cultural activities such as festivals, concerts and fairs.

In the south of the riverside, there is a new public space called Costanera del Tiempo. There is an amphitheatre and a cultural centre where different social activities are held.

By: Florencia Hornus, Agustina Palacio and Carolina Reynoso.

The Castle on Libertad Island

More than a hundred years of history come to life in “El Castillo”(The Castle), one of the oldest and most important cultural points in the city. Surrounded by Libertad island's lush greenery, it commands a beautiful view of the Gualeguaychu River.

The Castle was built in 1920 and belonged to Maria Eloisa D’Elia, a teacher from Concepcion del Uruguay, which is a city near Gualeguaychu. She lived with her family there until the great 1959 flood forced her out of the Castle.

Fascinating ghost stories are told about this place. One of these stories involves the ghost of a woman who worked there and was found beheaded in one of the bedrooms of "El Castillo". 

Another important historical fact is that Justo Jose de Urquiza, one of the most important politicians of Argentine history, lived on the island, where the castle stands, during the struggle between Federales and Unitarios.

"El Castillo de la isla Libertad" is a popular landmark of Gualeguaychu and a favourite holiday snap.

Text by Camila Tommasi

Video by Ludmila Odriozola, Micaela Romero Padilla, Paola Utrera and Paula Zabala

Claudio Méndez Casariego Bridge

Created by: Malena Barrera, Bianca Leissa, Marisol Olivera, Sebastian Dargains.

Gualeguaychú Theater

Created by: Bourlot Fernando, Goró Sofía, Seva Gabriel, Villagrasa Denise.