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10 Fun Facts about San Carlos de Bariloche

Written by Shanie

In case you didn’t know, here are ten quirky facts about Bariloche…

1. Bariloche interestingly enough got its name from a typo. At the end of the 19th century an English pioneer of the Nahuel Huapi area, Enrique Paterson, wrote a letter to a settler of the southeast sector of Nahuel Huapi, Carlos Wiederhold Piwonka. Paterson mistakenly referred to Mr. Piwonka as San Carlos instead of Don Carlos (Don being a polite way to refer to an owner of property or a company). The name not only was a compliment to Mr. Piwonka but it also stuck as the areas name. On July 26th, 1927 the name was officially decreed the title of Bariloche.
2. The correct pronunciation of Bariloche can be remembered by this simple saying…there are no bears in Bariloche, only bars. The right way to say it is using the word bar not bear.
3. Most Argentines call it home to the rite of passage after high school graduation.
4. The majority of its geography is occupied by protected national forest that is interlaced with manicured trails leading to inviting manned mountain huts that are stocked with good food and homemade brewskies.
5. Bariloche’s breweries are ranked as some of the best brews by beer connoisseurs.
6. The first chocolate store was created on the corner of Mitre and Beschtedt in 1928. The Swiss pioneer, Carlos Triberholn, was the grandfather of South America’s best chocolate.
7. The first car made its way to Bariloche in 1910. It was a Mercedes Benz and was known as the “car of the government” due to its famous passengers. A Ford T was brought in a bit later.
8. Much of the architecture is log and stone, a local handcrafted specialty.
9. It is home to the Loch Ness Monster’s cousin, Nahuelito
10. And, crazy enough, was a place of refuge for both Nazi soldiers and Jewish survivors of WWII.