La Paz, Canelones

La Paz
La Paz
City & Municipality
	La Paz Location within Uruguay
	Coordinates: 34°45′42″S 56°13′24″W / 34.76167°S 56.22333°W
Country	Uruguay
Department	Canelones
Founded	1872
Elevation	50 m (160 ft)
Population (2011 Census)
• Total	20,524
Time zone	UTC -3
Postal code	90100
Dial plan	+598 2 (+7 digits)

La Paz is a small city in the Canelones Department, southern Uruguay.

La Paz is also the name of the municipality to which the city belongs.

Geography

The city is located 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) east of Route 5 on the border with Montevideo Department. It belongs to the wider Montevideo Metropolitan Area.

History

The first Spanish inhabitants settled here in 1758, when the land was distributed to settlers for development. The railroad arrived here in 1868. The village of La Paz was founded on 28 February 1872,^[1] its name as a homage to the "Revolution of the Lances" (1870–1872). At the time it was a middle-class resort. The only Jewish cemetery of the country was created here in 1917.

On 15 May 1925, its status was elevated to "Villa" (town) by the Act of Ley Nº 7.837,^[1] while on 19 December 1957 it was further elevated to "Ciudad" (city) by the Act of Ley Nº 12.477.^[2]

The area was known for its vineyards, wine cellars and agroindustry. There were marble and granite quarries, used for the development of Montevideo and Buenos Aires, in Argentina. These quarries brought many Italian immigrants to the area. The exploitation of granite is still active. The city is also known for its meat industry.^[3]

Population

According to the 2011 census, La Paz has a population of 20,524.^[4] In 2010, the Intendencia de Canelones had estimated a population of 23,500 for the municipality during the elections.^[3]

Location map of the Municipality of La Paz

Year	Population
1908	2,505
1963	13,226
1975	14,653
1985	16,209
1996	19,547
2004	19,832
2011	20,524

Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay^[1]

Places of worship

Nuestra Señora de La Paz, La Paz Church (Roman Catholic)

Government

The city mayor as of July 2010 is Juan Tons.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Statistics of urban localities (1908–2004)". INE. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
^ "Ley Nº 12.477". República Oriental del Uruguay, Poder Legislativo. 1957. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
^ ^a ^b "ELECCIONES - Canelones". El Observador. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
^ "Censos 2011 Cuadros Canelones". INE. 2012. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
^ "MUNICIPIOS DE URUGUAY" at the Intendents' Congress website Archived 2012-03-08 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)