Frutillar is characterized by the beauty of its landscape, founders' german traditions and
Frutillar Musical Weeks. Thanks to this festival and Lake Theater, it has become the musical pole of southern
Chile.
Frutillar was founded on shore of Lake
Llanquihue on November 23, 1856 by German immigrants who arrived to the area during President Manuel Montt government. Settlers built their houses around the bay and dedicated themselves to agricultural and livestock work, installing dairies, mills, distilleries, tannery and some stores selling groceries and implements. Because
Frutillar is on the way to Puerto Montt and Osorno, it had a rapid development, which favored trade. Germans began to occupy farms measured by José Decher. Among first settlers, who built their homes around the bay, were Wilhelm Kaschel, Heinrich Kuschel, Theodor Niklitschek, Christian Nannig, Christian Winkler and Adams Schmidt. They built their own piers on the shore beaches and moved on the lake in steam boats. Farms, which started from the lake to hills of native forest, were approximately 35 m wide and 4 000 m long. Most of German settlers were farmers who had decided to escape from agricultural poverty caused in Europe by the industrial revolution. In 1882 The German Club was founded, a place for social meetings and to share publications that came in their native language. Until today, his restaurant maintains its prestige by offering both German and Chilean food dishes. Subsequently, other vital organizations were born for the city, such as the Fire Department and the Red Cross. With the arrival of the railway in 1907, the station in
Frutillar Alto was born. Today it has industries, services, commerce and an office. The commune maintains many traditions from old settlers, since many of their descendants still live in the zone.
In 1968 the first Musical Weeks were celebrated, and in 1973 the German Colonial Museum was built. Since the 1990s, Frutillar experienced a rebound in tourist activity, retaining German colonial urban style. The hotel sector, gastronomic, nautical, salmon fishing and sport hunting was developed. The first marina with yacht club of Llanquihue Lake was built in 2002 with headquarters in Frutillar. There is a lot to do in Frutillar, An option to visit is the German Colonial Museum, it arises from the interest of local people to know and preserve the history of Lake Llanquihue and the German immigration of the nineteenth century in this area. The municipality of Frutillar ceded in 1979 three hectares that had belonged to the Richter family to the Universidad Austral de Chile, thus beginning the construction and the enabling of the land for the museum that was finally inaugurated on January 28, 1984. An emblematic place is The Lake Teather , thanks to which Frutillar has become an important cultural center in Chile, also has a musical school in the Richters house. Emblematic work of the city, it was built with high technology in acoustics and modern architecture. In it Musical Weeks of Frutillar are celebrated and concerts, plays, ballet and cinema are held throughout the year. It is the southernmost international theater in the world, and rises in front of the Puntiagudo, Osorno, and Calbuco volcanoes on the banks of the Llanquihue.
The musical tradition in Frutillar is long-standing and dates back to the rise Liederkranz mixed choir, created in 1894 by Professor Jacob Junginger. Ten years later, in 1904, the Männercor was born. Their hymn, Singing sorrows are gone, served them to mitigate the nostalgia and pains suffered by the hard-working settlers and parishioners of Frutillar. During 25 years Junginger directed this choir, focusing on pieces by great German composers and writers. Junginger was succeeded by Carl Hesse, Herbert Koehler and in the 1940s, Robert Dick.
The Musical Weeks is a classical music festival that takes place every summer in late January and early February in the city of Frutillar since 1968. It was born with the osornina pianist and cultural manager Flora Inostroza (1930-2016) with financial support of enthusiasts of the project among which the Schiess family stand out -the businessman Guillermo Schiess and the death of this his children, especially Nicola, the same ones who have been the main patrons of the Teatro del Lago- and the firm Nestlé (sponsor of a series of symbols of the festival placed to decorate the city mainly on the shores of the lake, on Bernardo Philippi Avenue).
Frutillar, which has a varied hotel offer, offers various tourist attractions: Beaches with volcanoes Osorno, Calbuco, Tronador and Puntiagudo view. practice of water sports; German Colonial Museum and German-style crafts; the natural beauty of its surroundings and paths around the lake. The main tourist event in the city is Musical Weeks.