Villa General Belgrano: Argentina's German Village in the Sierras
Villa General Belgrano — a village in the Córdoba Sierras founded by German and Austrian immigrants — has Alpine architecture, an October beer festival (Oktoberfest), and artisan chocolate shops; an unexpected Central European experience in the Argentine interior
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German founding
Villa General Belgrano was settled by German, Austrian and Swiss immigrants from the late 19th century; the character of the village was enhanced by the arrival of survivors of the German battleship Graf Spee (scuttled in the Río de la Plata in 1939) who settled in the village after the war; the influence of German society is visible in the architecture, food and culture
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Oktoberfest
The Villa General Belgrano Oktoberfest – held every October – is one of the biggest beer festivals in Argentina; the event draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to the small village of Sierras; German beer, bratwurst, pretzels and folk music of the Argentine Sierras create a genuinely surreal and enjoyable cultural fusion
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Artisan Chocolate
The artisan chocolate shops of Villa General Belgrano – producing strudel, torte, marzipan and chocolate using Central European techniques – are the village's most distinctive commercial offering; the chocolate and pastry tradition, which the German and Swiss immigrants brought with them, has become the village's main tourist product
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Calamuchita Valley
The Calamuchita Valley - the river valley in which Villa General Belgrano is located - is one of the most beautiful in the Córdoba Sierras; the green hills, the river and the small mountain villages create a landscape that has nothing to do with the flat Argentinian pampas and everything to do with a central European mountain valley
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La Cumbrecita
La Cumbrecita — a village 30 km from Villa General Belgrano, accessible only on foot or on horseback (no cars allowed) — is the most extreme expression of the Central European aesthetic of the Sierras; the wooden architecture of the village, the mountain streams and the hiking trails through the surrounding forest are a complete alpine fantasy
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Graf Spee Connection
The German battleship Admiral Graf Spee was scuttled in the Río de la Plata by its captain in December 1939 after the Battle of the River Plate; the crew, interned in Argentina for the duration of the war, were largely released after the war; a significant number settled in Villa General Belgrano, strengthening the German community and adding naval history to the history of the village