San Pedro de la Paz

San Pedro de la Paz
City and Commune
Coat of arms Location of San Pedro de la Paz commune in the Biobío Region San Pedro de la Paz Location in Chile
Coordinates (city): 36°50′31″S 73°06′11″W / 36.84194°S 73.10306°W / -36.84194; -73.10306
Country	Chile
Region	Biobío
Province	Concepción
Government [1][2]
• Type	Municipality
• Alcalde	Audito Retamal Lazo (Ind.)
Area [3]
• Total	112.5 km2 (43.4 sq mi)
Elevation	20 m (70 ft)
Population  (2012 Census)[3]
• Total	121,631
• Density	1,100/km2 (2,800/sq mi)
• Urban	80,159
• Rural	288
Sex [3]
• Men	38,571
• Women	41,876
Time zone	UTC−4 (CLT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−3 (CLST)
Area code	56 + 41
Website	Official website (in Spanish)

San Pedro de la Paz (Spanish pronunciation: [sam ˈpeðɾo ðe la pas]) is a Chilean city and commune located in the Concepción Province, Biobío Region. It has some 80,447 inhabitants according to the 2002 national census. In 2005, the Pedro Aguirre Cerda avenue, the main avenue in the city, was completed. Most of the inhabitants of this comuna commute daily to Concepción – either by car, bus or train – over the Biobío River. It is considered to be part of Greater Concepción conurbation.

San Pedro was established during the Conquest of Chile first as fort la Candelaria which was destroyed following the death of Governor Martín García Óñez de Loyola in 1599. It was rebuilt as part of La Frontera by Alonso de Ribera as fort San Pedro de la Paz in 1603. A small settlement grew up around it. During the Chilean War of Independence the town was burned in 1821, by the royalist Juan Manuel Picó on the order of Vicente Benavides during the Battle of San Pedro. The fort was ruined by the 1835 Concepción earthquake.