We visited the cemetary while on a tour of Punta Arenas. Many of the tombs relate directly to the history of the area. Some of the grave sites are very ornate and impressive. It's worth a visit........the guide definitely helped.

One of the most popular places to visit in Punta Arenas is the Sara Braun Municipal Cemetery. The pathways are lined with cypress trees, chapels, mausoleums, crypts, and tombstones of the wealthy families a well as other societies and groups who were noted for their love of Punta Arenas. Also buried here are settlers including English and Germans, unmarked forgotten graves, and newly buried. On site, there is a large columbarium. When Sara Braun bequeathed the property, the stipulation was that she would be the only deceased person to pass through that portal. Because of her request, the central door is closed, and visitors must enter through a side door. Some of the monuments in the Sara Braun Municipal Cemetery: Portico Monumental (Monumental Porch) were donated by Sara Braun and her father Elias Braun. Construction of this monument began in 1918 and finished in 1923. The Spanish Society of Mutual Aids constructed an art deco monument. Dates to 1899. The Sara Braun Hamburger is a structure with orthodox religious architectonic lines of Eastern Europe and dates to 1916. There is a smaller monument nearby for Sara’s husband. The Sir Walter Baldwin Spencer monument was built to honor this prestigious anthropologist whose death surprised him while he was investigating the Yamana Indians in Novario Islands. Sir Walter died on July 14, 1929. The Kusanovic Family was constructed with the neo-baroques lines and was registered in 1913.

The cemetery is an amazing window into the history and different nationalities that helped found the city of Punta Arenas. Really well-kept and tree-lined there is a small entry fee. Parking is possible across the street next to the florists.