Brunet Castle
On one edge of Cerro Castillo, overlooking the city center and the north shore of Estero Marga-Marga, is Brunet Castle, named after the millionaire family who commissioned its construction in 1923 to the outstanding architects Alfredo Azancot and Jorge Schroeder. Rafael Brunet Brown's goal was to have a residence in stone, in a neo-medieval style. Both architects had experience on the hill, Azacont had already built the Rioja Palace in 1906 and the Carrasco Palace in 1912, while Schroeder was doing multiple works on Cerro Castillo. But the Brunet family failed to finish the castle, selling it to Juan Yarur, who made the terminations and incorporated arabesque details to the composition of this construction.
Erected in granite stone edged and covered with concrete, the Brunet Castle architecturally recalls the medieval constructions, which is observed in the constitutive and ornamental elements of the building, such as towers, fine-made stained glass windows that adorn the hall and stair windows main, gargoyles carved in oak, plaster details with Roman warriors and designs in wrought iron. All the stones of the Castle were brought directly from France, since this type of material is not found in Chile.
As for the spatial distribution of the property, on the first floor is the large hall where the main staircase and a circular skylight appear. To one side is the large vaulted room, which has a separate circular space with furniture in work, while on the other side is the dining room covered in oak, which is connected to the kitchen and the service area.
On the second floor of the palace there are seven bedrooms. The main one enjoys a circular terrace with panoramic view. This terrace is smaller than the one located on the fifth facade of the castle, where you can see the entire city. In this space stands the tower that crowns the building, covered with colorful mosaics, in which a mosque for the family was located.
In 1974 the property was transferred to Carabineros de Chile and was converted into a hotel, event center and ceremonial palace. For its architectural value in 2005 it was declared the Historical Monument. After suffering significant damage due to the earthquake in February 2010, it is currently completely restored.
