Churches of Chiloé

The Churches of Chiloé are timber churches built across the Chiloé archipelago of southern Chile, mainly in the 18th and 19th centuries. Sixteen of them were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000 as the outstanding examples of what UNESCO calls the Chilota School of architecture. They are known for their tower façades and for exterior walls and towers clad in wooden shingles (tejuelas), a response to the archipelago's wet, windy oceanic climate.

History

Jesuit missionaries arrived in the archipelago in 1608 and ran a "circular mission," travelling each year between communities. UNESCO records that about 70 churches were built under this system and that by the end of the 19th century more than 100 had been built, of which about 60 survive. Franciscans continued the tradition in the 18th and 19th centuries. The work combined Spanish religious architecture with the carpentry skills of the local Indigenous population.

Construction

The basic design has a tower rising from the main façade, a basilica plan and a vaulted timber ceiling. UNESCO notes that the forms and joinery of the towers and roof structures show the strong influence of local boat-building. Walls and towers are covered in hand-split wooden shingles (tejuelas), traditionally of native conifers such as alerce and cypress.

Community labour, the minga, has been central to building and maintaining the churches.

Conservation

The churches are vulnerable. In March 2002 a storm brought down the tower of the church at Chonchi, showing that they were weaker than had been assumed. A national programme supported by the Inter-American Development Bank has run since 2003 and has reversed serious damage, especially to the tower façades. Suitable hardwoods are now scarce, and UNESCO notes research into alternatives with properties similar to the larch and cypress used originally, as well as treatments against weathering and wood-boring insects. The churches belong to the Diocese of Ancud and are National Monuments under Chile's Law 17.288 of 1970.

The sixteen churches

Achao, Quinchao, Castro, Rilán, Nercón, Aldachildo, Ichuac, Detif, Vilupulli, Chonchi, Tenaún, Colo, San Juan, Dalcahue, Chellín and Caguach.