Museum of National History of Chile

The Palacio de la Real Audiencia sits on the north side of the Plaza de Armas, its neoclassical facade defined by a series of long, arched windows and a heavy, stone balcony stretching across the center. It houses the National History Museum, which documents Chile from pre-Columbian times through the late twentieth century. In eighteen ten, this building served as the meeting place for the first National Junta, marking the formal start of the country's move toward independence from Spanish colonial rule.