HISTORY OF BARILOCHE

THE CITY

The founding of San Carlos de Bariloche on May 3, 1902 can be considered also as the starting point of receptive tourism in this region - the watershed point signaling the transformation of a mountain village into a top world-class mountain resort.

That year of 1902, the brand-new town growing in the shadow of the "Sociedad Ganadera y Comercial Chile-Argentina" (which was formed from the firm created by Mr. Carlos Wiederholdt), received a visit from three VIP guests from the city of Chubut.

These were Aarón Anchorena, Esteban Lavallol and Carlos Lamarca, who published their opinions in a travel booklet, thus signaling the start of the interest in this area shown by the country's elite families.

Years later, in 1913, the US ex-president Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Bariloche from Chile; in 1916 it was the turn of adventuress traveler Ada M. Elflein, who visited the lakes with the sponsorship of the La Prensa newspaper and published a book of her impressions; in 1930 the Prince of Wales visited the area.

Already in 1913 the firm "Andina del Sud", belonging to Ricardo Roth Schutz (1883-1947), had opened up tourist traffic towards Chile. This "world citizen" ten years before had brought a group of Frenchmen from Buenos Aires to San Carlos de Bariloche, and from there to Puerto Montt.

Roth Schutz was a real sponsor for Central Argentine Patagonian tourism. He brought vessels to sail on the Nahuel Huapi, Frías and Todos los Santos lakes; he also built hotels in Puerto Blest and Lake Frías in Argentina, and on the Chilean side in Peulla and Ensenada.