The original settlement was founded on 13 May 1829 under the name "Santa Rosa". It was started by Fructuoso Rivera, who played a prominent role in the early history of Uruguay. On 20 April 1928, it was renamed to "Bella Unión" by the Act of Ley No. 8.207.[1] On 15 October 1963, its status was raised to "Ciudad" (city) by the Act of Ley No. 13.180.[2]
Population
In 2011, Bella Unión had a population of 12,200.[3] Together with its peripheral populated and rural areas (Coronado, Portones de Hierro y Campodónico, Las Piedras, Franquia & Cuareim) they form a population centre of around 18,000.
Year
Population
1908
5,414
1963
4,955
1975
7,778
1985
12,238
1996
13,537
2004
13,187
2011
12,200
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay[dead link][1]
Geography
It is located at the north end of Route 3, on the banks of the Uruguay River, near the mouth of Río Cuareim. Being situated on a piece of land protruding between Argentina and Brazil, it lies across Monte Caseros, Corrientes of Argentina to the west and across Barra do Quaraí of Brazil, which is only 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) to the northeast, joined by a bridge over Río Cuareim.
The writer Jesús Moraes, (1955-), who specializes in short stories in Spanish, is from Bella Unión, and is one of the relatively few contemporary Uruguayan writers strongly identified with the Uruguayan north.
^Castaño, José; Giménez, Agustín; Ceroni, Mauricio; Furest, José; Aunchayna, Rossina. "Caracterización Agroclimática del Uruguay 1980–2009"(PDF) (in Spanish). Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bella Unión.