Wooden Churches of Chiloe

The Wooden Churches of Chiloe represent a unique example in Latin America of an outstanding form of ecclesiastical wooden architecture. They represent a tradition initiated by the Jesuit Peripatetic Mission in the 17th and 18th centuries, continued and enriched by the Franciscans during the 19th century and still prevailing today. These churches embody the intangible richness of the Chiloe Archipelago, and bear witness to a successful fusion of indigenous and European culture, the full integration of its architecture in the landscape and environment, as well as to the spiritual values of the communities.

Wooden Churches of Chiloe Heritage
Continent: Asia
Country: Chile
Category: Cultural
Criterion: (II)(III)
Date of Inscription: 2000

Outstanding Wooden Churches

The Churches of Chiloe are outstanding examples of the successful fusion of European and indigenous cultural traditions to produce a unique form of wooden architecture. The mestizo culture resulting from Jesuit missionary activities in the 17th and 18th centuries has survived intact in the Chiloe archipelago, and achieves its highest expression in the outstanding wooden churches.

Wooden Churches Chiloe
A Wooden Churche Chiloe

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16th Century Inhabitants

In the 16th century the inhabitants of the Chiloe archipelago, which extends from the Chacao Canal to the Corcovado Gulf, followed a sedentary way of life, based on a mixed farming and fishing economy. Spanish navigators had discovered the archipelago by the mid-16th century, but colonization did not begin until 1567, when Martín Ruiz de Gamboa founded the towns of Santiago de Castro and Chacao on the Isla Grande de Chiloe.

The mestizo culture resulting from Jesuit missionary activities in the 17th and 18th centuries has survived intact in the Chiloe archipelago, and achieves its highest expression in the outstanding wooden churches.

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