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Puerto Madryn is one of the most outstanding cities
in the Atlantic Patagonia. It was born with the arrival
of Welsh settlers in 1865. The name pays tribute to
Love Jones Parry, who was the Baron of Madryn in the
country of Wales. Together with Lewis Jones, Parry was
one of the leaders of the group of pioneers who arrived
in Patagonia in search of lands on which to live on
and preserve their culture and religion.
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 Puerto Madryn. 1884. |
On the shores of Bahía Nueva, the chosen site
was an excellent deep-water port. The construction of
the railway between this port and Valle del Chubut,
inaugurated in 1889, gave it a great boom. From that
moment on, Puerto Madryn became the entrance and exit
gate for products from the Welsh colonies.
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| Carnival Party, 1884. Paris Hotel. |
In the mid ´70s, an aluminium production plant was
installed. From that moment on, a very important demographic
growth began that still continues today, greatly enhanced
by the tourist activity.
The port activity grew simultaneously, linked to land
activities and also to deep-sea fishing, and in recent
years to porphyry-extraction activities.
Today, Puerto Madryn is like an entrance gate to Península
Valdés, the obligatory entry to one of the greatest
wild fauna reservoirs in the Southern Cone. The city shows
a remarkable settlement of companies specializing in tourism
services. The Ecocenter is located in the most outstanding
point of the city, at the Southern end. Inside the building,
which has the best view of all of Bahía Nueva,
educational, scientific and artistical offerings, as well
as displays, exhibitions and events reveal the meanings
of the Patagonian Sea and PenínsulaValdés.
With a population of more than 60,000 inhabitants with
an average age of 25 years, Puerto Madryn is one of the
cities with the greatest demographic growth in Argentina.
It has important education and scientific institutions
as well as entities that are linked to the preservation
of natural resources – among them, the Universidad
Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco, Universidad Tecnológica
Nacional, Centro Nacional Patagónico (Cenpat-Conicet),
Ecocentro, and other foundations – which, the city’s
young age notwithstanding, are very active and enjoy national
and international recognition.
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