be punished first by a major earthquake and then by being placed under the administration of what they perceived to be a less-deserving city, Puerto Montt. The recent creation of a new, smaller, but more independent region (Los R�os), with Valdivia as its capital, reduced the previous stigma.
Spanish colonial influences
During much of the colonial period, Valdivia was essentially a military camp, a walled city surrounded by hostile natives. The coastal defenses and their garrisons made up a large part of the population. After several fires and earthquakes, nearly all buildings from this period were destroyed, with the exception of the military defenses. Valdivia's best known historical landmarks are now the two towers which were part of a former city wall, built by the Spaniards to defend the city, known as Los Torreones. Many of Valdivia's oldest families have their roots in Peru as Valdivia historically depended on the Viceroyalty of Peru.
German influences
Since the first Germans migrated to Valdivia in the mid-1840s, German cultural influence has been visible in the city. Germans in Valdivia settled mostly in the Isla Teja and Collicosuburban areas. Until the building of Pedro de Valdivia Bridge, inhabitants of Isla Teja lived isolated from the city, where it was common that children first learned to speak Germanbefore Spanish. Nowadays the German language is preserved by the Instituto Alem�n Carlos Anwandter one of Latin America's oldest German schools. German descendants also form Valdivia's oldest fire station Germania, located in Isla Teja.
German immigrants and their descendants formed their social club Club Alem�n, which after World War II changed names to Club la Uni�n. German workers once had their own club simply called El Alem�n (The German).
Valdivia also hosts Bierfest Valdivia, a celebration that could be described as a small, regional Oktoberfest, despite being celebrated in late January or
