It's a sign!

Seriously, it’s a sign. A new sign. They just put it in a couple weeks ago in the park across from the church. The sign gives information about Berlín in Spanish and English. I was impressed and thought I’d share what the new sign says…

The new sign in town

Side 1: Berlín

Berlín is a municipality of the department of Usulután in El Salvador. Berlín has a population of 17,787 inhabitants. It is located to the northwest of the Tecapa-Chinameca mountain range 112 kms from the capital, San Salvador. Situated in the northern mountainous zone of Usulután, it has a cool climate due to its altitude of 1,023 meters above sea level.

Founded in 1885 as Berlín, by the inhabitants of what was then called “Gramalón” Valley or “Hot Water” Valley and by a German named Serafin Brennen, who arrived in the area to establish himself after surviving a shipwreck along the Salvadoran cost. Serafin had a lot of influence in the village, which allowed him to suggest changing the name from Gramalón to Berlín, to honor his hometown and the capital of Germany. The local inhabitants accepted and adopted Berlín as the name of the city.

Side 2: Coffee and Geothermal Energy

Have you ever felt the heat from a thermal vent?

The economy of this town is built on the cultivation of coffee, which in the year 1909 by legislative decree was granted the title of “Villa” to facilitate agricultural, decorative, commercial, and civilian progress and development. The decree permitted the use of stamped sheet metal in the walls and infrastructure of the town’s homes in exchange for coffee, giving this developing community a new image, which is currently considered cultural heritage.

Towards the end of the 19th century the geothermal industry began to flourish, which utilizes the naturally produced heat from steam and thermal vents powered by thermal activity and magma from deep beneath the Earth’s crust.

Side 3: Volcanoes and Colonial Route

This tourist route will allow you to know the most important volcanoes of El Salvador, their towns, and ancient culture.

Multi-destination touristic schedule that runs through Central America following the old Camino Real that was built by the Spaniards over a preexisting indigenous route, parallel and transversal to the volcanic mountain chains of the pacific coast.

This route is considered in the tourist industry as the most important example of regional touristic integration because it allows its nature, volcanoes, and a series of towns in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama that were built during the Spaniard colonial era to be admired simultaneously. With this integrated effort, at a national level, are the offerings of services and touristic products of 33 municipalities.