History
The town was founded by Martín Rodríguez on April 4, 1823, named Fuerte Independencia (Independence Fortress). With time the native aborigins became acculturated and mixed with the increasing European population. The vast majority of immigrants came from Spain and Italy but also Basque and Danish people settled, the latter constituting a very active community. Tandil was designated a city (although for the modern standards it is a large town) in 1895 and became a popular tourist destination attracting people from Buenos Aires, other parts of Argentina.
The Piedra Movediza fell down in 1912 and split in two below. Although it is impossible after the fact to ascertain the reason it fell, it is very possible that the delicately balanced rock was thrown off balance by the common practice of placing glass bottles under it and watching them explode. This was the way the locals would prove to visitors that the rock, in fact, moved, since the movement was too subtle to be detected by the naked eye. There have been projects to restore the rock, and a replica stone was placed where the original used to be. Other similar stones like El Centinela are also attractions, but none has the truly astonishing quality of teetering ever so slowly like the "moving rock" once did. . This made easier the creation of other touring places like Sierra del Tigre or Monte Calvario.
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