Museums
Colchagua Museum
The Colchagua Museum was designed to incorporate the concept of a journey through the history of the planet and humankind in the Americas. The tremendous variety of collections that founder Carlos Cardoen has gathered over the years allows visitors to explore paleontology, archaeology, and Pre-Colombian art from Chile and throughout the Americas, as well as the History of the Conquest, Colonial times and Independence of Chile and the Americas and through the Republican era. It also includes thematic rooms dedicated to such topics as Modernity, the History and Development of Arms, traditional huaso gear, Coaches and Carriages, Agricultural Machinery, and the Railroad.
Located in Santa Cruz, 200 km (125 mi) south of Santiago, the capital of Chile, the Colchagua Museum is the largest and most diverse private museum in Latin America. The museum is in the heart of the Colchagua region, a tradition-filled rural area, home to the huaso (the traditional Chilean countryman), and where the traditional festivals and way of life are still celebrated and conserved.
Colchagua’s booming wine industry has its roots in colonial times. Thanks to its excellent climate, soil, and geographic conditions, valley growers produce high-quality grapes for making fine wines that are now highly valued around the world.
Open Tuesday–Sunday, year round
For more information contact us at:
(56-72) 825458 | 823199
reservas@rutadelvino.cl
San José del Carmen de El Huique Museum
Declared a National Historic Monument in 1961. Part of the manor house was donated to the Chilean Army by the Sánchez de Loria-Errazuriz family in 1975. The Army opened the house to the public as the Folkloric, History and Agricultural Museum in 1996, leaving testimony of country customs and rural life in the haciendas of Chile’s Central Zone in the 19th century through the mid-20th century.
The large house has a 250-meter (820-foot) façade, a church with a 23-meter (75-foot) bell tower and a main courtyard adorned with palms and other trees and flowers that fill the entire area with perfume. The home’s many different courtyards show a variety of historic relics such as the church bell, the gate of the Carrera family, different types of clay ovens and elements of domestic work.
The interior of the house seems to be a step back in time, beautifully decorated with imperial-style furnishings, a large collection of opaline goods, beautiful lamps, historic photographs such that of Chilean President Federico Errázuriz Echaurren and Argentine President Julio Roca aboard the battleship O’Higgins in 1899, sealing the peace between the two countries.
The house contains a valuable collection of oil paintings by important artists such as Melchor Pérez de Holguín, José Gil de Castro, Alfredo Valenzuela Puelma, Luis Strozzi, and Carlos Alegría. It also holds objects of Chilean cultural heritage, such as clay and copper utensils, Mapuche jewelry, and an original hat, the Huique cap once typically worn at the hacienda.
The hacienda’s church is still very much in use, and the local community continues to attend regular Sunday morning mass and celebrate religious ceremonies there.
"El Huique" has been maintained in excellent condition and is the only museum of its kind in Chile.
Location: San Jose del Carmen, Comuna de El Huique, VI Region, Chile.
Open Wednesday–Sunday, year round.
For more information contact us at:
(56-72) 825458 | 823199
reservas@rutadelvino.cl
Lircunlauta Manor House Museum
This 18th-century manor house was built on lands belonging to the Lircunlauta Hacienda, which is very closely tied to the history of San Fernando. This regional city was founded by local governor José Antonio Manso de Velasco on 450 blocks of land between two rivers and originally christened Villa San Fernando de Tinguiririca.
Open year round
Address: Juan Jimenez 1595, San Fernando, VI Region. Chile
For more information contact us at:
(56-72) 825458 | 823199
reservas@rutadelvino.cl