The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary on Valdivia's central plaza is the main Catholic church of the city and diocese. The current building dates from 1941 — it replaced the original cathedral that was damaged in the 19th-century earthquake series and destroyed by the catastrophic 1960 Valdivia earthquake. The 1960 earthquake (magnitude 9.5, the most powerful ever recorded) killed several hundred people in Valdivia and submerged portions of the city, and the cathedral reconstruction reflects the city's broader effort to rebuild after the disaster.
The interior is relatively plain by Chilean cathedral standards, but the church occupies a dignified position on the Plaza de la República and its tower is a useful orientation point in the city centre. The plaza itself, lined with trees and surrounded by civic buildings, is the pleasant centre of daily life in Valdivia — benches, vendors, dogs, and the particular South American rhythm of public space that is worth an hour of your time in any city in Chile.