Contulmo is a Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

an town and commune in Arauco Province

Arauco Province

Arauco Province is one of four provinces of the Chilean region of Biobío . It spans a coastal area of just south of the mouth of the Biobío River, the traditional demarcation between the nation's major natural regions, Zona Central and Zona Sur...

, Biobío Region. Colonized by Germans of Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 since 1884.

Geography

Contulmo spans an area of 961.5 sqkm It is bordered by the commune of Cañete to the north and northwest, Tirúa

Tirúa

Tirúa is a Chilean commune and town in Arauco Province, Biobío Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Tirúa spans an area of and has 9,664 inhabitants . Of these, 2,508 lived in urban areas and 7,156 in rural areas...

 to the southwest, Purén

Purén

Purén is a city and commune in Malleco Province of Araucanía Region, Chile. It is located in the west base of the Nahuelbuta mountain range . The economical activity of Purén is based in forest exploitation and agriculture...

 to the east and Lumaco

Lumaco

Lumaco is a town and commune in Malleco Province in the Araucanía Region of Chile. Its name in Mapudungun means "water of luma". Lumaco is located to northeast of Temuco and from Angol...

 to the southeast.

The commune includes part of the lakes Lanalhue

Lanalhue Lake

Lanalhue Lake is a Chilean lake located in the Arauco Province of Biobío Region. The lake is placed in the Nahuelbuta Range above the Lanalhue Fault....

 and Lleulleu. The town of Contulmo is surrounded by mountains and hills of the Nahuelbuta Range

Nahuelbuta Range

The Nahuelbuta Range or Cordillera de Nahuelbuta is a mountain range in Bio-Bio and Araucania Region, southern Chile. It is located along the Pacific coast and forms part of the larger Chilean Coast Range...

.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

 of the National Statistics Institute

National Statistics Institute (Chile)

The National Statistics Institute of Chile is a state-run organization of the Government of Chile, created in the second half of the 19th century and tasked with performing a general census of population and housing, then collecting, producing and publishing official demographic statistics of...

, Contulmo has 5,838 inhabitants (3,020 men and 2,818 women). Of these, 2,442 (41.8%) lived in urban area

Urban area

An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...

s and 3,396 (58.2%) in rural areas. The population fell by 13.3% (898 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Culture

In architecture and urban design the town shows the German colonization. Every year in April is celebrated the "Fest der Kolonisten" which means "feast of the settlement" in German, and in December is the "Feast of the White Strawberry", among other festivities.

Administration

As a commune, Contulmo is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council

Municipal council

A municipal council is the local government of a municipality. Specifically the term can refer to the institutions of various countries that can be translated by this term...

, headed by an alcalde

Alcalde

Alcalde , or Alcalde ordinario, is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An alcalde was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian cabildo and judge of first instance of a town...

 who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Eduardo Aguayo Thiele (UDI).

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Contulmo is represented in the Chamber of Deputies

Chamber of Deputies of Chile

The Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Chile is the lower house of Chile's bicameral Congress. Its organisation and its powers and duties are defined in articles 42 to 59 of Chile's current constitution....

 by Manuel Monsalve (PS

Socialist Party of Chile

The Socialist Party of Chile is a political party, that is part of the center-left Coalition of Parties for Democracy coalition. Its historical leader was the late President of Chile Salvador Allende Gossens, who was deposed by General Pinochet in 1973...

) and Iván Norambuena (UDI) as part of the 46th electoral district, (together with Lota

Lota, Chile

Lota is a city and commune located in the center of the Chile on the Gulf of Arauco. It lies within the Concepción Province of the Biobío Region.-History:...

, Lebu

Lebu, Chile

Lebu is a port city and commune in central Chile administered by the Municipality of Lebu. Lebu is also the capital of Arauco Province in Bío-Bío Region...

, Arauco

Arauco, Chile

Arauco is a city and commune in Chile, located in Arauco Province in the Biobio Region. The meaning of Arauco means Chalky Water in Mapudungun. The region was a Moluche aillarehue...

, Curanilahue

Curanilahue

Curanilahue is a Chilean commune and city in Arauco Province, Biobío Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Curanilahue spans an area of and has 31,943 inhabitants . Of these, 30,126 lived in urban areas and 1,817 in rural areas...

, Los Álamos

Los Álamos

Los Álamos is a Chilean commune and city in Arauco Province, Biobío Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Los Álamos spans an area of and has 18,632 inhabitants . Of these, 16,394 lived in urban areas and 2,238 in rural areas...

, Cañete and Tirúa

Tirúa

Tirúa is a Chilean commune and town in Arauco Province, Biobío Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Tirúa spans an area of and has 9,664 inhabitants . Of these, 2,508 lived in urban areas and 7,156 in rural areas...

). The commune is represented in the Senate

Senate of Chile

The Senate of the Republic of Chile is the upper house of Chile's bicameral National Congress, as established in the current Constitution of Chile.-Composition:...

 by Victor Pérez Varela (UDI) and Mariano Ruiz -Esquide Jara (PDC

Christian Democratic Party

Christian democratic parties are those political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social teaching, and it continues to be influential in Europe and...

) as part of the 13th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Coast).