January '08 - South America: Punta Arenas, Argentina/090100-MagallanesHistoricalMuseum-08820

January '08 - South America: Punta Arenas, Argentina

From our guide, we learned this to be the "Historical Museum of Magellanes" which opened in 1983 in what had been the palace of Braun - Menendez. Braun - Menendez were, at the time of building (1905), the wealthiest people in the area.

The museum, traces the discovery, colonization and development of the Magellan Straits region through its display of historical objects, illustrations and photographs. It also presents an interesting exhibit of objects testifying to the historical development of Patagonia.

We didn't get a chance to visit the museum but from what I read, much of the furniture and tapestries come from the opulent times in Europe. Were we there longer, it would definitely have been an interesting place to visit.

One of the things I learned as we traveled the outer edges of Southern South America is that civilization there is far younger than what we had ex[erienced on our Rhine cruise back in April 2007. Recently a dear friend ask which we liked better. I had to say they were so very different, with European civilization being so much older, there was no comparison. They each hold their own story. She replied with "like comparing apples to oranges?" "Yes," I said "that's a perfect description!"

090100-MagallanesHistoricalMuseum-08820.jpg - From our guide, we learned this to be the "Historical Museum of Magellanes" which opened in 1983 in what had been the palace of Braun - Menendez. Braun - Menendez were, at the time of building (1905), the wealthiest people in the area.

The museum, traces the discovery, colonization and development of the Magellan Straits region through its display of historical objects, illustrations and photographs. It also presents an interesting exhibit of objects testifying to the historical development of Patagonia.

We didn't get a chance to visit the museum but from what I read, much of the furniture and tapestries come from the opulent times in Europe. Were we there longer, it would definitely have been an interesting place to visit.

One of the things I learned as we traveled the outer edges of Southern South America is that civilization there is far younger than what we had ex[erienced on our Rhine cruise back in April 2007. Recently a dear friend ask which we liked better. I had to say they were so very different, with European civilization being so much older, there was no comparison. They each hold their own story. She replied with "like comparing apples to oranges?" "Yes," I said "that's a perfect description!"