Барилоче: История и природа аргентинского города у подножия Анд

San Carlos de Bariloche, usually known as Bariloche (baɾiˈlotʃe), is a city in the province of Río Negro, Argentina, situated in the foothills of the Andes on the southern shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake. It is located within the Nahuel Huapi National Park. After development of extensive public works and Alpine styled architecture, the city emerged in the 1930s and 1940s as a major tourism centre with skiing, trekking and mountaineering facilities. In addition, it has numerous restaurants, cafés, and chocolate shops. The city had a permanent population of 108,205 according to the 2010 census. According to the latest statistics from 2015, the population is around 122,700, and a projection for 2020 estimates 135,704.

The name Bariloche comes from the Mapudungun word Vuriloche meaning "people from behind the mountain" (vuri = behind, che = people). The Poya people used the Vuriloche pass to cross the Andes, keeping it secret from the Spanish priests for a long time. There is evidence of the existence of indigenous settlements on banks of Lake Nahuel Huapi, in the area now occupied by the city of Bariloche, prior to arrival of expeditionaries and white settlers. During the Neolithic, the arrival of human beings to Nahuel Huapi region occurs. The archaeological and historical record speaks of tehuelches and puelches presence in the area. With the process of araucanization and mainly since the 17th century, the culture of these groups is strongly affected by Mapuches, who increased their presence from the settlement of Spaniards in Chile, and their continued push east. At 19th century end, in the vicinity of Nahuel Huapi, only a few scattered indigenous families were there: People of Inacayal had been stripped of their lands, and transferred to Tecka (Chubut) when the cacique was taken prisoner. Curruhinca had made an act of submission to Argentine government with his own. Some Nguillatun was still being celebrated. But the region was beginning a new stage in its history. Although incorporated into national sovereignty, the Nahuel Huapi area began to develop fundamentally linked to Chile. Before 19th century end, when the border was still in dispute, people from the south of the neighboring country were gradually arriving to settle in surroundings of the lake. Small farmers were most of them from the island of Chiloe, but German immigrants living in Chile also arrived.

Nahuel Huapi lake was known to Spaniards since the times of the Conquest of Chile. Following the trails of the Mapuche people across the Andes, in the summer of 1552–1553, the Spanish Governor of the Captaincy of Chile Pedro de Valdivia sent Francisco de Villagra to explore the area east of the Andes at the latitudes of the city of Valdivia. Francisco de Villagra crossed the Andes through Mamuil Malal Pass and headed south until reaching Limay River in the vicinity of Nahuel Huapi Lake. In 1670, Jesuit priest Nicolás Mascardi, based in Chiloé Archipelago, entered the area through the Reloncaví Estuary and Todos los Santos Lake to found a mission at the Nahuel Huapi Lake, which lasted until 1673. Historians disagree if the mission belonged to the jurisdiction of Valdivia or Chiloé. The mission was destroyed in 1717 by Poyas following a disagreement with the missionaries; the superior of the mission had refused to give them a cow. Wiederhold established then a little shop called La Alemana (The German) in 1895, and it is from this shop the modern settlement of Bariloche developed from. As Wiederhold was named consul of the German Empire in Chile he left Bariloche for Puerto Montt in the 1900s. In 1934 Ezequiel Bustillo, then director of the National Parks Direction, contracted his brother Alejandro Bustillo to build several buildings in Iguazú and Nahuel Huapi National Park (Bariloche was the main settlement inside the park). In contrast to subtropical Iguazú National Park, planners and developers thought that Nahuel Huapi National Park, because of its temperate climate, could compete with the tourism of Europe. Together with Bariloche, it was established for priority projects by national tourism development planners. That month, 68% of Americans polled thought Hitler was still alive. When asked at the Potsdam Conference in July 1945 how Hitler had died, Stalin said he was either living "in Spain or Argentina." In his 2004 book Bariloche nazi guía turística, Argentine author Abel Basti claims that Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun lived in the surroundings of Bariloche for many years after World War II. Basti said that the Argentine Nazis chose the estate of Inalco as Hitler's refuge. then moved to a Bavarian style mansion at Inalco, a remote and barely accessible spot at the northwest end of Nahuel Huapi Lake, close to the Chilean border. Supposedly, Eva Braun left Hitler around 1954 and moved to Neuquén with their daughter Ursula ('Uschi'). Adolf Hitler died in February 1962 at age 73, and Eva Braun was alleged to be alive in the 2000s. These accounts are disputed by most historians, who generally believe that Hitler and Braun committed suicide in the Führerbunker during last days of World War II.

Tourism, both domestic and international, is the main economic activity of Bariloche throughout the year. The city is very popular with Brazilians, Europeans and Israelis. One of the most popular activities is skiing, and most tourists visit Bariloche in winter (June–September). Regular flights from Buenos Aires via LAN airlines and Aerolíneas Argentinas serve the city year round. The main ski slopes are the ones at Cerro Catedral, the biggest ski resort in South America and in the southern hemisphere. During the summer, beautiful beaches such as Playa Bonita and Villa Tacul welcome sun bathers; brave lake swimmers venture into its cold waters (chilled by melting snow). Lake Nahuel Huapi averages in the summertime. Bariloche is the biggest city of a huge Lakes District, and it serves as a base for many excursions in the region. Activities such as fishing, whitewater rafting, and birdwatching are popular with tourists. Trekking along trails in the nearby mountain wilderness is supported by a few high mountain huts operated by the Club Andino Bariloche. The city is noted for its chocolates and Swiss style architecture. Many high school students in Argentina take a senior trip to Bariloche, and the town is well prepared to host these kinds of groups. In November 2012, Bariloche was named "national capital of adventure tourism" under Law 26802 sanctioned by the Argentine National Congress.

Besides tourism and related services, Bariloche is home of advanced scientific and technological activities. The Centro Atómico Bariloche is a research center of the National Atomic Energy Commission, where basic and applied research in many areas of the physical sciences is carried out. The complex also houses Instituto Balseiro, a higher education institution of the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, with a small and carefully selected number of students. The institute confers degrees in Physics and Nuclear, Mechanical and Telecommunications Engineering, as well as Masters and Doctorate degrees in Physics and Engineering. The city also hosts INVAP, a high technology company that designs and builds nuclear reactors, state of the art radars and space satellites, among other projects. The private, non profit organization Bariloche Foundation continues the tradition of scientific research in the city. Started in 1963, it promotes postgraduate teaching and research. There are also several departments and laboratories at the National University of Comahue.

The city is served by San Carlos de Bariloche International Airport (IATA BRC/ICAO SAZS) equipped to receive any kind of aircraft. Several of Argentina's most important airlines maintain regular flights to Bariloche, as well as some international lines from neighbouring countries, especially during the ski season. The city is linked by train with the city of Viedma through the Tren Patagonico that crosses Argentina from the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean. Bariloche can also be reached by buses and private cars. The main land routes from North are RN 40, coming from Villa La Angostura, San Martín de los Andes and Mendoza Province, and RN 237 that enters from Neuquén and connects through Argentine's route system with Buenos Aires and Eastern/Central Argentina. Other options are, from the East, by RN 23 (partially paved), crossing the railway line to Viedma (Línea Sur), or from the South by RN 40, coming from the town of El Bolsón (until 2003 this road was numbered RN 258). San Carlos de Bariloche lies close to the Chilean border and is connected to Chile by the Cardenal Antonio Samoré Pass (125 km North West from Bariloche, near Villa La Angostura) crossing the Andes Mountains. A terminal railway station links Bariloche to Viedma.

Within the city, Mibus is the single mass transit bus company that works, this bus line operates with the SUBE card. The Company Las Grutas that connects Bariloche with Dina Huapi also runs through part of the city, although this line operates with its own card.

Bariloche is home of the army's "12° Regimiento de Infantería de Montaña" (12th Mountain Infantry Regiment), where military personnel are instructed in mountainous conditions, including combat, survival, and skiing. It is usual for the Regiment to receive infantry personnel from other parts of the country and train them. Furthermore, the Escuela Militar de Montaña, the mountain warfare school of the Argentine Army is located in Bariloche.

The main Neighbourhoods are Belgrano, Jardín Botánico, Melipal, Centro, Las Victorias, Las Marias, Dos Valles, and Playa Bonita.

The city of Bariloche has one of the fifty most dangerous landfills for natural environment of the world. This was indicated by a report that was carried out by the environmental organization International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), based in Austria. The request for the transfer of the Bariloche dump, located on National Route 40 (Argentina) south, was being surrounded by neighborhoods with a high population density, it is already historic. Added to the situation of environmental collapse is the desperate situation of a large number of people who go to the dump daily in search of food or shelter. In addition, the fires in various sectors of the landfill also became recurrent, affecting not only those who work in the dump but also the closest neighborhoods, without forgetting to mention the forests that surround it, the fauna that inhabits them, and the water, that is deposited in layers that end up in the lake from which the local inhabitants extract the water to drink.

The Andean Club Bariloche (lang es) was co organiser of the 1st and the 3rd South American Ski Mountaineering Championships. The Club Deportivo Cruz del Sur takes part in Torneo Federal B, the fourth tier of the Argentine football league system. The sides Estudiantes Unidos and Estrella del Sur also participated in lower Argentine leagues.