Palacio Sara Braun Tickets & Tours
The Sara Braun Palace is a historic building in the Chilean city of Punta Arenas. It is located in front of the renowned Plaza Muñoz Gamero. It was built between 1895 and 1905 to the design of French architect Numa Mayer. In 1981 it was declared a historical monument by the Council of National Monuments.
About
Elías Braun and his family, consisting of him, his wife Sofía Hamburguer and their children Sara and Moritz (Mauricio), arrived in the city of Punta Arenas in 1873, due to a policy of promoting European immigration applied by President José Joaquín Pérez. Before traveling to Patagonia, the Braun lived in Talsen, Courland, then part of the Russian Empire (now part of Lithuania). Although they belonged to the ethnic group of Baltic Germans, the elite of the region, their Jewish religion made them vulnerable to pogroms that occurred on Russian territory, so they decided to emigrate to America.
Sara Braun Hamburguer married in 1887 with the successful Portuguese businessman José Nogueira, who had made a great fortune thanks to shipping activities, hunting sea lions and sheep, of which he was one of the pioneers founding years later the Sociedad Explotadora de Tierra del Fuego. When Nogueira died of tuberculosis in 1893, Sara went on to administer the great inheritance, taking part of it in the construction of her home.
Sara Braun chose the French architect Numa Mayer to design her future home, who drew the plans following the canons of the prevailing taste in the Paris of the late nineteenth century. The exuberance of the palace contrasted with the simple private dwellings of the area at that time.
When Sara Braun died in 1955 the mansion was left in the hands of her nephews, who sold much of the furniture. The following year it was acquired by the Union Club. In 1992 it became the Hotel José Nogueira that occupies its premises until today.
Over time, it has become for many the most characteristic construction of Punta Arenas, standing out for its beautiful surroundings, with the Plaza Muñoz Gamero and the buildings that surround it, which were also declared a national monument.
Currently the palace is occupied by the hotel, in addition to being the headquarters of the Club of the Union of Punta Arenas and by the Restaurant La Taberna.