Miramar, Córdoba
Encyclopedia
Miramar is a town in San Justo Department
, located in Córdoba Province (Argentina)
.
s from its early days, and in 1933, a jitney
service was started between the town and the provincial capital, Córdoba
. The relocation to Miramar of Máximo Palkhe, a businessman from Avellaneda
(a suburb of Buenos Aires
), in 1936, was followed by his decision to have a luxury hotel built on the shores of Mar Chiquita
, a saline lake, in 1940. The decision led to the development of other tourist facilities in the hamlet, and Palkhe's Gran Hotel Vienna (named for his wife's birthplace), was inaugurated in 1945. The Palkhes sold the hotel in 1946, and relocated to Germany
, however, and the establishment, which closed in 1980, has been at the center of a number of mysteries and controversies in the decades since.
The town became a significant center of tourism in Argentina
from the 1950s to the 1970s, and Miramar, home to 110 hotels in its heyday, grew to around 4,500 inhabitants by the 1970 Census. During that latter decade, however, inflows from the Dulce
, Primero
, and Segundo River
s into Mar Chiquita increased significantly as a result of the Florentino Ameghino
water cycle
(which prognosticated higher rainfall after 1970), and longstanding deforestation
in the Gran Chaco
region (north of the arear). Record floods in 1977 and 1986 devastated Miramar, and the town was relocated 5 km (3 mi) to the south, to higher ground, in 1992, when most of the flooded ruins were demolished.
Amid a significant recovery in the Argentine economy after 2002, tourism in Miramar began to recover. The town, in 2009, was home to 1,527 hotel rooms, and was named Top Natural Wonder of Córdoba Province by a reader survey conducted by La Voz del Interior
. Site of a wildlife refuge
since 1966, Miramar is also home to the Loma de los Indios Birdwatching Station, and the Miramar Biological Station.
San Justo Department, Córdoba
San Justo Department is a department of Córdoba Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 190,182 inhabitants in an area of 13,677 km², and its capital city is San Francisco, which is located around 670 km from Buenos Aires...
, located in Córdoba Province (Argentina)
Córdoba Province (Argentina)
Córdoba is a province of Argentina, located in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are : Santiago del Estero, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, La Pampa, San Luis, La Rioja and Catamarca...
.
Overview
Established on November 18, 1924, with the inauguration by Victorio Rosso of the Hotel Miramar, a health resort, Miramar was the site of a number of mineral spaMineral spa
Mineral spas are resorts developed around naturally occurring mineral spring locales.- Origins :Spas grew in reputation in the nineteenth century on into the late middle-twentieth century for their purported healing or healthful benefits to those wealthy enough to partake of their waters...
s from its early days, and in 1933, a jitney
Jitney
Jitney may refer to:* Jitney , written by August Wilson* Atlantic City Jitney Association, an association of operators of minibus service in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA* an archaic name for a nickel...
service was started between the town and the provincial capital, Córdoba
Córdoba, Argentina
Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...
. The relocation to Miramar of Máximo Palkhe, a businessman from Avellaneda
Avellaneda
Avellaneda is a port city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the seat of the Avellaneda Partido, whose population was 328,980 as per the ....
(a suburb of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
), in 1936, was followed by his decision to have a luxury hotel built on the shores of Mar Chiquita
Mar Chiquita (Córdoba)
Mar Chiquita or Mar de Ansenuza is an endorheic salt lake located in the northeast of the province of Córdoba, in central Argentina. It is the largest of the naturally occurring saline lakes in Argentina....
, a saline lake, in 1940. The decision led to the development of other tourist facilities in the hamlet, and Palkhe's Gran Hotel Vienna (named for his wife's birthplace), was inaugurated in 1945. The Palkhes sold the hotel in 1946, and relocated to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, however, and the establishment, which closed in 1980, has been at the center of a number of mysteries and controversies in the decades since.
The town became a significant center of tourism in Argentina
Tourism in Argentina
Tourism in Argentina is favored by its ample and varied natural assets and by its cultural offerings. The country is lucky to have everything a tourist would ask for...
from the 1950s to the 1970s, and Miramar, home to 110 hotels in its heyday, grew to around 4,500 inhabitants by the 1970 Census. During that latter decade, however, inflows from the Dulce
Dulce River (Argentina)
The Dulce River is the most important river in the Argentine province of Santiago del Estero....
, Primero
Primero River
The Primero River , also known as Suquía , runs through the city of Córdoba, Argentina....
, and Segundo River
Segundo River
The Segundo River ,, also known as Xanaes, is a river in the center-north of the province of Córdoba, Argentina. It is born in the Paravachasca Valley at the confluence of the Los Molinos and Anizacate rivers, on the eastern slopes of the Cumbres de Achala , about 2,000 m above mean sea level...
s into Mar Chiquita increased significantly as a result of the Florentino Ameghino
Florentino Ameghino
Florentino Ameghino was an Argentine naturalist, paleontologist, anthropologist and zoologist.Born in Luján, son of Italian immigrants, Ameghino was a self-taught naturalist, and focused his study on the lands of the southern Pampas...
water cycle
Water cycle
The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle or H2O cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. Water can change states among liquid, vapor, and solid at various places in the water cycle...
(which prognosticated higher rainfall after 1970), and longstanding deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
in the Gran Chaco
Gran Chaco
The Gran Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semi-arid lowland region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, where it is connected with the Pantanal region...
region (north of the arear). Record floods in 1977 and 1986 devastated Miramar, and the town was relocated 5 km (3 mi) to the south, to higher ground, in 1992, when most of the flooded ruins were demolished.
Amid a significant recovery in the Argentine economy after 2002, tourism in Miramar began to recover. The town, in 2009, was home to 1,527 hotel rooms, and was named Top Natural Wonder of Córdoba Province by a reader survey conducted by La Voz del Interior
La Voz del Interior
La Voz del Interior is a daily Spanish language newspaper edited and published in Córdoba, capital of the province of Córdoba, Argentina and the second-largest city in the country...
. Site of a wildlife refuge
Wildlife refuge
A wildlife refuge, also called a wildlife sanctuary, may be a naturally occurring sanctuary, such as an island, that provides protection for species from hunting, predation or competition, or it may refer to a protected area, a geographic territory within which wildlife is protected...
since 1966, Miramar is also home to the Loma de los Indios Birdwatching Station, and the Miramar Biological Station.