In 1940, after the Battle of the River Plate, German seaman scuttled and sunk their battleship, the "Admiral Graf Spee" off the coast of the Montevideo harbour, and 130 of its surviving sailors settled in the village along with the original settlers and landscaped the mountain ranges of Córdoba with red-roofed, wood-frame homes, microbreweries and pastry and chocolate shops which gave it that unique style that distinguishes it today. A well-known German resident was Kurt Tank, who became a leading member of the Argentine Aeronautic Institute.