Punta Arenas | |
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State | |
Country | |
Capital | |
Population | 130704 |
Punta Arenas (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpunta aˈɾenas]; historically Sandy Point in English) is the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antartica Chilena. The city was officially renamed as Magallanes in 1927, but in 1938 it was changed back to "Punta Arenas". It is the largest city south of the 46th parallel south, and at the same time the most populous southernmost city in Chile and in the Americas, and due to its location, the coldest coastal city with more than 100,000 inhabitants in Latin America. It is also one of the most populous sites so far south in the world.
As of 1977 Punta Arenas has been one of only two free ports in Chile, the other one being Iquique, in the country's far north. (Punta Arenas itself is not a "free port": outside the city there is a "zona franca" where certain products can be imported into the country under a reduced-tax regimen.)
Located on the Brunswick Peninsula north of the Strait of Magellan, Punta Arenas was originally established by the Chilean government in 1848 as a tiny penal colony to assert sovereignty over the Strait.
Bandung | |
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State | West Java |
Country | Indonesia |
Capital | |
Population | 2390120 |
Postcode | 40252 |
Bandung () is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia. One of Indonesia's most populous cities, Greater Bandung is the country's second-largest metropolitan extended with over 11 million inhabitants. Located 768 metres (2,520 feet) above sea level, approximately 140 kilometres (87 miles) southeast of Jakarta, Bandung has cooler year-round temperatures than most other Indonesian cities. The city lies on a river basin surrounded by volcanic mountains that provides a natural defense system, which was the primary reason for the Dutch East Indies government's plan to move the capital from Batavia (modern-day Jakarta) to Bandung.
The Dutch first established tea plantations around the mountains in the 18th century, and a road was constructed to connect the plantation area to the colonial capital Batavia (180 kilometres (112 miles) to the northwest). In the early 20th century the Dutch inhabitants of Bandung demanded the establishment of a municipality (gemeente), which was granted in 1906, and Bandung gradually developed into a resort city for plantation owners. Luxurious hotels, restaurants, cafés, and European boutiques were opened, leading the city to be nicknamed Parijs van Java (Dutch: "The Paris of Java").
After Indonesia declared independence in 1945, the city has experienced ongoing development and urbanisation, transforming from an idyllic town into a dense 16,500 people/km2 (per square kilometre) metropolitan area with living space for over 8 million people.
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