Chile · 20th century
Wulff Castle ranks #5,420 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #4 of the 16 mapped in Chile. Founded 1906, one of 161 atlas entries founded in the 20th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,105 times in the last 60 days, more than 53% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Chile compares in the castle statistics.
Wulff Castle (Spanish: Castillo Wulff) is a historic castle overlooking the sea in Viña del Mar, Chile. It was built in 1906 for the Wulff family. It is the headquarters of the city heritage center.
Gustavo Adolfo Wulff Mowle, German saltpeter and coal trader, as well as maritime transporter, migrated to Chile in 1881. In 1904, he bought from Dr. Teodoro Von Schoeders 1,260 square metres (13,600 sq ft) in front of Cerro Castillo (Castle Hill), in Viña del Mar. He built the new house in 1906. By 1917, Wulff hired architect Alberto Cruz Montt to make the house into a castle. Eventually a new tower was added built upon some rocks on the northern side of the castle, and a bridge joined them together.
In 1946, Mrs. Esperanza Artaza Matta inherited the property, and asked another architect, José Alcalde, to remodel it. The southern tower was removed.
The City bought the castle in 1959. From 1960 until 1988, it housed the Museo Naval de la Armada de Chile (Chilean Navy Forces Museum). Between 1990 and 1999, it lodged the collection of the writer Salvador Reyes Figueroa. In 1995, it was pronounced a National Historical Monument by Chilean Law.
Text adapted from “Wulff Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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