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| Colonia del Sacramento | |
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Colonia del Sacramento
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| Coordinates: 34°28′17″S 57°50′39″W / 34.47139°S 57.84417°W | |
| Country | Uruguay |
| Department | Colonia Department |
| Founded | 1680 |
| Founder | Manuel Lobo |
| Elevation | 27 m (89 ft) |
| Population (2004) | |
| - Total | 21,714 |
| postal code | 70000 |
| Area code(s) | +052 |
Colonia del Sacramento (formerly the Portuguese Colónia do Sacramento) is a city in southwestern Uruguay, by the Río de la Plata, facing Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the oldest town in Uruguay and capital of the departamento of Colonia. It has a population of 21,714 (2004 census).
It is renowned for its historic quarter, a World Heritage Site. Modern Colonia del Sacramento produces textiles and has a free trade zone, in addition to a polytechnic center and various government buildings.
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Founded in 1680 by Portugal as Colónia do Sacramento, the colony was later disputed by the Spanish who settled on the opposite bank of the river at Buenos Aires. The colony was conquered by José de Garro in 1680, but returned to Portugal the next year. It was conquered again by the Spanish in March 1705 after a siege of five months, but given back in the Treaty of Utrecht. Another attack during the Spanish-Portuguese War, 1735-1737, failed.
It kept changing hands from crown to crown due to treaties such as the Treaty of Madrid in 1750 and the Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1777, until it remained with the Spanish. It then transferred to Portuguese control again, and later to the Brazilians after 1816, when the entire Banda Oriental (Uruguay) was seized by the Rio de Janeiro government and renamed the Cisplatina province.
Now part of the independent country of Uruguay, Colonia del Sacramento has expanded to the north and east, but the original Barrio Histórico (historic quarter) retains its irregular, terrain-fitting street plan built by the Portuguese, contrasting with the wider, orthogonal calles in the newer Spanish area.
The rule from 1680 to present (with flag of the period) is:
| From | To | Rule | Reason for Handover |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1680 | 1680 |  Portugal |
conquered by José de Garro |
| 1680 | 1681 |  Spain |
Provisional Treaty of Lisbon |
| 1681 | 1705 | Portugal |
conquered in the War of Spanish Succession |
| 1705 | 1713 |  Spain |
Treaty of Utrecht |
| 1714 | 1762 |  Portugal |
First Cevallos expedition |
| 1762 | 1763 | Spain |
Treaty of Paris (1763) |
| 1763 | 1777 | Portugal |
Second Cevallos expedition |
| 1777 | 1811 |  Spain |
Revolt led by José Gervasio Artigas |
| 1811 | 1817 |  Liga Federal |
Portuguese invasion |
| 1817 | 1822 |  Portugal |
Brazilian Declaration of Independence |
| 1822 | 1828 |  Brazil |
Argentina-Brazil War |
| 1828 | present |  Uruguay |
| Historic Quarter of the City of Colonia del Sacramento* | |
|---|---|
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
| State Party |  Uruguay |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | iv |
| Reference | 747 |
| Region** | Latin America and the Caribbean |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1995 (19th Session) |
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* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO. |
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The Barrio Histórico (historic quarter) section of Colonia del Sacramento is designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is a popular tourist attraction for visitors from Buenos Aires, and there is frequent ferry service across the Río de la Plata between the two cities, with fast ferries completing the journey in just 50 minutes. The historical section of Colonia, which has some cobblestone streets built by the Portuguese in the 17th century, is within walking distance of the ferry terminal. Among the notable visitor attractions around the tree-lined Plaza Mayor (main square) are:
 Portón de Campo, the City Gate |
 Another view of the City Gate |
 Lighthouse at Colonia del Sacramento |
 Typical street |
Colonia del Sacramento is served by three ferry boat lines from Buenos Aires, Argentina: "Buquebus", "Seacat Colonia" and "Colonia Express".
Two principal highways terminate at Colonia: Highway #1 connects Colonia to Montevideo and points east; Highway #21 connects to points north, including the Aarón de Anchorena National Park, 30 kilometres (19 mi) distant, and Fray Bentos. There is also a local airport which can receive light aircraft. There is a project in planning to lengthen the runway and recommence flights to Buenos Aires (this was done in the past)and other cities within Uruguay.
Argentina maintains a consulate in Colonia del Sacramento.
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| Look up colonia or Colonia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
| Wikispecies has information related to: Colonia |
Colonia may refer to:
| This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. |
Colonia del Sacramento is in Uruguay. It is filled with old colonial buildings and cobbled streets, and is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Colonia del Sacramento (Nova Colonia do Santissimo Sacramento) was founded in 1680 by the Portuguese (Manuel Lobo), sandwiched in between the Portuguese colony of Brazil and the Spanish Vice Royalty of the River Plate (later Argentina, Uruguay and Southern Brazil). Its strategic position and use as a smuggling port meant that its sovereignty was hotly contested and the city changed hands several times between Spain and Portugal.
Two daily boat connections arrive and depart from Buenos Aires and are the main connection to Argentina. A fast expensive one and a cheap slow one. The fast Buquebus [1] catamaran ferry (one hour) costs 60 USD return and is usually quite crowded with day tourists and travel groups. Make sure you book in advance for weekends and the peak season (Christmas until the end of February). The slower boat costs 102 Pesos (from Buenos Aires) round trip, and takes about 3 hours.
A cheaper possibility is to take a boat from Tigre to Carmelo in Uruguay. From Carmelo, take a bus, which run every two to three hours from the center of the city to Colonia. Great landscape and also drops off kids from school along the way.
There are several connections by bus from Montevideo to Colonia. Be careful with people telling you that all buses are booked out. This is in general not true and a taxi is much more expensive. For the peace of your mind buy a bus ticket upfront to avoid rare disappointment.
If you want to extend your stay in Argentina, then Colonia is a good place because upon arrival you are granted a new 90 day tourist visa for either country.
The old city of Colonia, which holds the main attractions, is quite small. It can be easily walked in a single day. There are shops where you can rent bicycles or scooters which you can use to ride around the city or in to the countryside. Streets aren't always in perfect condition, so keep an eye on the road, especially cobbled ones.
The ferry terminal is about half a kilometre south of the old city and the main bus terminal is about a kilometre south of the city center.
It is possible to rent row and sail boats from the marina.
The main attraction of Colonia is its historic center. Nine small museums in the center can be visited with only one entrance ticket. For a few pesos you can go up to the top of the lighthouse (faro) and see most of the city and look out over the city and the river.
Outside of the city there is a semi-abandoned amusement park with Uruguay's only bullfighting ring, no longer in use.
The old city is full of restaurants which serve the weekend tourist crowd from Buenos Aires. The specialties are Italian and asado (barbeque).
Colonia was also settled by Swiss immigrants and is home to a unique local Swiss cheese that you can get at the markets.
Yerba mate, the local drink of choice. Every single person here carries around their own cup and bombilla, so when in Rome...
Colonia is a preserved tourist town with very little of the harassment seen in most cities in Latin America. The dominance of local weekenders from Buenos Aires and Montevideo creates a very different environment from other tourist cities.
There are frequent buses to Montevideo and several time a day ferries to Buenos Aires and El Tigre in Argentina.
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   | An album of images of Colonia, taken on 26th August 2007 - Picasa Web Albums - joanne - 20070826_Colonia |
| | producto-113 Uruguay Tourism Dept. website - Bienvenidos a Ministerio de Turismo de Uruguay |
| | Tourist information about Colonia del Sacramento - Colonia del Sacramento |
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