Victoria was founded in 1881 by Bernardo Muñoz Vargas by order of General Gregorio Urrutia, on a plateau overlooking the Traiguén River valley.

The Swiss settlers were followed by Germans in Valdivia, who established a mill and a brewery on the banks of Traiguén; and exploited the extensive virgin forest creating some sawmills.

[4] Some snowcapped volcanoes of the Andes, such as the Tolhuaca, Lonquimay, Sierra Nevada and the Llaima, can be seen from Victoria, forming an enormous backdrop for the city.

As a commune, Victoria is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years.

The commune is represented in the Senate by Alberto Espina Otero (RN) and Jaime Quintana Leal (PPD) as part of the 14th senatorial constituency (Araucanía-North).