Founding
municipality of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil
Fetching the article from Wikipedia…
Petrópolis (Portuguese: [peˈtɾɔpolis, -pu-]) is a city of the estado (state) of central Rio de Janeiro, in southeastern Brazil, in a valley of the Órgãos Mountains, 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Rio de Janeiro city. According to the 2022 Brazilian census, Petrópolis municipality had a population of 278,881 inhabitants. Besides being the largest and most populous city in the Fluminense Mountain Region, the city also has the largest Gross Domestic Product and Human Development Index in the region.
The town's name ("City of Peter") honors Pedro II, the last Emperor of Brazil, who is entombed there at the Cathedral of Saint Peter of Alcantara. The city was the summer residence of the Brazilian Emperors and aristocrats in the 19th century, and was the official capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro during the First Brazilian Republic, between 1894 and 1902.
Until the 18th century, the region was inhabited by the índios coroados (crowned Indians), which earned it the Portuguese name of "Sertão dos Índios Coroados". It was only with the discovery of gold in Minas Gerais and the consequent opening of the new way of the mines that passed through Petrópolis in that century that the region began to be occupied by non-Indians. The town's origins can be traced to Bernardo Soares de Proença, who between 1722 and 1725 opened an alternative route between Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, across the Serra da Estrela called "Caminho Novo das Minas" (New Mines Road).
While traveling to Minas Gerais along this route in 1822, Emperor Pedro I stayed at a farm owned by a Catholic priest, named Correia, and found the region's climate pleasant. As the priest's sister and heiress refused to sell his property, the Emperor bought the neighboring one, called the Córrego Seco Farm, in 1830. He had his summer palace built there, but never saw it finished, because he stepped down from the throne on April 7, 1831. Other Brazilian aristocrats eventually followed suit.
His son, Emperor Pedro II, on March 16, 1843, signed an imperial decree ordering the construction of a settlement (to be formed with the arrival of German immigrants) and the construction of the dreamy summer palace on his outlying lands, the cornerstone of which was settled by the Emperor in May 1845, and that was ready in 1847. Conceived by Major Julius Friedrich Koeler, it is considered to be the second planned city in Brazil (after Recife, designed during the Dutch period), being composed of an urban nucleus – the city (now the center), where the Imperial Palace, Public buildings, commerce and services.
From then on, the city became the de facto capital of the Empire of Brazil during the summer, with the whole court moving. Large numbers of well-to-do inhabitants of the city of Rio de Janeiro also spent the summer in Petrópolis to escape the outbreaks of yellow fever. Emperor Pedro II ruled for 49 years, and remained in Petrópolis for at least forty summers, for up to five months. On 29 September 1857, the town was elevated to the status of a city. In 1861, the first Macadamized Highway in Brazil, Estrada União e Indústria, was inaugurated, connecting Petrópolis to the city of Juiz de Fora in Minas Gerais. In 1883, a railroad arrived at the city on the initiative of the Baron of Mauá. Also in 1877, the first telephone line in Brazil (and the first outside of the United States) was built, connecting Pedro's summer palace to his farm headquarters.
Regardless of the time of year, foreign diplomatic representatives lived in Petrópolis for most of the imperial period.
Even after the establishment of the Republic and the exile of the Imperial family in 1889, the city continued to play a significant role in Brazilian history. It was a frequent choice as a summer residence for Presidents of the republic, who lodged at the Palácio Rio Negro (Black River Palace). The most frequent of them was Getúlio Vargas, whose stays, during Estado Novo, lasted up to three months.
Between 1894 and 1902, the city was capital of the State of Rio de Janeiro, replacing Niterói, due to the two Navy Revolts. Also in this period, was chosen Hermogênio Silva, the only Deputy Governor of Rio de Janeiro whose political base was in Petrópolis. In 1897, the first cinema session took place in the city, with a cinematographer showing the Lumière brothers' first films. In 1903, the Treaty of Petrópolis, which gave Brazil the Acre territory, was signed between Brazil and Bolivia, at the residence of the Baron of Rio Branco. The sanitarian Oswaldo Cruz was named its first mayor in 1916. On the premises of the Quitandinha Palace, the declaration of war of the American countries to the Axis powers was signed during World War II (1939–1945). One of the world's leading authors in the interwar period, Austrian-born Stefan Zweig and his second wife attempted to escape the war in Petrópolis, moving there in 1941. They committed suicide the following year, the same year Brazil entered the war. In 2006, their Petrópolis house was made into a museum, Casa Stefan Zweig.
During the Brazilian military government in the 1970s, the city was home to a military center for torture that has been referred to as the "House of Death".
In 1973 the remains of Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil (1846–1921), and her husband, the Count of Eu, were brought to be buried in the Imperial Mausoleum. The Princess received a funeral of the Head of State with the presence of the most important leaders of the Republic and the Brazilian Imperial Family and it was declared a public holiday.
On 15 February 2022, over 150 people were killed by floods in Petrópolis following intense rainfall that caused mudslides.
Nestled among the forested hills of the Serra dos Órgãos, in the valley of the Quitandinha and Piabanha rivers, Petrópolis is a popular winter holiday spot. Besides the climate and surroundings, the main attraction is the former Summer Palace of the last Brazilian Emperor, which is now the Imperial Museum, specializing in Imperial history and memorabilia.
Petrópolis is home to the National Laboratory for Scientific Computing, a research unit of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Brazilian Federal Government. The municipality holds part of the Central Rio de Janeiro Atlantic Forest Mosaic of conservation units, created in 2006. The 16.7-hectare (41-acre) Petrópolis Municipal Nature Park is in the historical center of the city of Petrópolis. It is part of the Petrópolis Environmental Protection Area and the Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve. The municipality also contains the 530-hectare (1,300-acre) Pedra do Elefante Natural Monument.
Petrópolis has a tropical highland climate (Köppen climate classification: Cwa) caused by elevation with humid summers. The rainfall is approximately 1,383 mm (54.4 in) per annum.
The municipality contains part of the 26,260 hectares (64,900 acres) Tinguá Biological Reserve, a strictly protected Atlantic Forest conservation unit created in 1989.
The temperatures are mild. The annual average is around 19 °C (66 °F). In warmer months, the average temperature is 23 °C (73 °F) and the average of the coldest month is 15 °C (59 °F). According to the National Institute of Meteorology (Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia), the lowest temperature recorded was −0.7 °C (30.7 °F) on August 2, 1955, and the highest temperature recorded was 36.6 °C (97.9 °F), on November 6, 2009.
Petrópolis experienced a strong population growth in the late nineteenth century, which remained less significant throughout the twentieth century. Its population began to stagnate and then contract (even if in a mild way) around the beginning of 2000. According to 2010 data, 52.3% (approximately 155 thousand people) of the population belong to the female sex and 48.7% (about 145 thousand people) to the male sex.
According to the 2022 census of IBGE, Petrópolis is composed by:
According to the 2010 demographic census, Petrópolis was home to 186,642 White people (63.5%), 75,025 Mixed people (25.4%), 31,463 Black people (10.6%), 970 Asian people (0.4%) and 281 Amerindian people (0.1%). The main people to participate in the ethnic/cultural formation of Petrópolis were the Germans, the Portuguese, and the Afro-Brazilians. Other ethnic groups like Italian, Syrian, French and Lebanese also had expressive participation in the formation of the city.
Petrópolis is divided into five districts, which are subdivided into smaller neighborhoods. These districts are subdivided into neighborhoods and/or urban and rural locations.
Petrópolis
Districts
Petrópolis' economy is based on tourism, services and industry. It is the 2nd largest beer production center in the country and the headquarters of major Brazilian brewery companies such as Grupo Petrópolis (which owns the beer brands Itaipava, Crystal, Lokal, Black Princess, and Petra) Bohemia, and also a Brasil Kirin Factory.
Other companies also have their headquarters in the city, such as the Mundo Verde network (Brazilian retailer of natural products) and the chocolate maker Katz. Currently, the project is being developed for the Industrial District of Posse, which aims to encourage industries in the 5th district of the city. Petrópolis has the 9th largest GDP of the state of Rio de Janeiro, in front of cities such as Nova Friburgo and Teresópolis, and, in national scope, more than six state capitals, such as Aracaju, Palmas, and Macapá.
The city's economy is still larger than entire states of the federation, such as Roraima and Acre.
The high season of tourism in Petrópolis begins in July, with the beginning of Bauernfest, and the beginning of winter, which attracts tourists to the city with the cold weather. In 2014, some attractions increased by more than 30%, compared to the same period in 2013, due to the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014.
It is the city of the mountain region of Rio de Janeiro that receives more tourists per year. Petrópolis was the non-capital that progressed most in the Competitiveness Index of National Tourism in 2014, prepared by the Ministry of Tourism. According to the developers, the city is among the 15 best placed in Brazil in the overall ranking of competitiveness in tourism.
The main attractions of the city are:
Text from the Wikipedia article “Petrópolis”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.