Former National Congress

The former National Congress

The Santiago audio-guided tour places you between two major institutions: the former National Congress and the Palace of Justice. Protected by its railings and its gardens, the Ex Congress is one of the great symbols of Chilean democracy.

From a fire to a democratic symbol

Founded in 1811, at the Independence of Chile, the Congress occupies a plot that belonged in the sixteenth century to the Jesuits, where the church of the Society of Jesus stood. In 1863, a terrible fire ravaged the church and seriously damaged the first building of the Congress, causing numerous victims to whom a statue of the Virgin, in the garden, pays tribute. From this tragedy were born the first civil building in reinforced concrete of the country and the first fire service of Santiago. Opposite stands the Supreme Court of Chile, created by the constitution of 1823.

What there is to see

The former Congress, declared a national historic monument, today houses parliamentary chambers and the library of the Congress. Its gardens and its statue of the Virgin dedicated to the victims of the fire can be discovered from the outside, with respect for the place. Facing it, the Supreme Court is one of the oldest judicial institutions still in activity in Latin America.

Practical information

The former National Congress and the Supreme Court are in the centre of Santiago. Institutions in activity, they cannot be freely visited; their façades and gardens can be contemplated from the public space, on the level.

When was the former National Congress founded?

In 1811, at the Independence of Chile; the present building, in reinforced concrete, succeeded a building seriously damaged by the fire of 1863.

What is the Supreme Court of Chile?

The highest institution of the Chilean judiciary, created in 1823, one of the oldest still in activity in Latin America.