Museo San José del Carmen de El Huique

Museo San José del Carmen de El Huique Review

Here you can look into the lifestyle of Chile's 19th-century rich and famous. Construction began on the current house in 1829 and finally completed with the inauguration of the chapel in 1852. The Errázuriz family, who can trace the 2,600-acre estate back through family lines to 1756, donated it to the Chilean Army in 1975. It was reopened as a museum in the 1990s and is now the only remaining estate of its kind in Chile that has been preserved intact and is open to the public.

Visitors not only see the sumptuous suites full of collections of opal glass, lead crystal, bone china, antique furniture, and family portraits evoking Chile's aristocratic past, but even more interesting, also get to see how the other half lived. The tour includes the servants' quarters, kitchens, and the estate's 16 working patios, each dedicated to a specific household chore, such as laundry, butchering, or cheese making.

The local guides are very knowledgeable and have many tales to tell, as many grew up hearing family stories about working at the estate. The tour ends with a visit to the chapel, which has Venetian blown-glass balustrades around the altar and the choir loft. Sunday-morning mass is held in the chapel at 11:30. Visits are by prior reservation only, and English-speaking guides are available with sufficient notice. This building suffered significant damage during the February 2010 earthquake and, as of this writing, was closed until further notice. Please check to see if the property has opened prior to your visit. CLOSED TO PUBLIC,6930 184