Além Paraíba

Além Paraíba
Porto Novo Old Railway Station
Location in Minas Gerais
Coordinates: 21°53′16″S 42°42′14″W
Country	Brazil
Region	Southeast
State	Minas Gerais
Founded	September 28, 1883
Government
• Mayor	Sérgio Antônio Ribeiro Ferreira
Area
• Total	511.199 km2 (197.375 sq mi)
Elevation	140 m (460 ft)
Population (2006)
• Total	35,589
• Density	69.6/km2 (180/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-3 (UTC-3)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-2 (UTC-2)

Além Paraíba is a city in the southeastern Zona da Mata region of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The name indicates its position on the far bank (from Rio de Janeiro) of the Rio Paraíba do Sul. It was known as São José d'Além Parahyba until 1923.

Railways

Além Paraíba was at the junction of the Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil (1871) and the Estrada de Ferro Leopoldina (1873). The grand but somewhat ruinous main station (Porto Novo) now houses a small railway museum dedicated to the EF Leopoldina.

The Empreza Ferro Carril Além Parahyba followed in 1895 with a 4 km mule railway to Saúde which ran along the main streets and was electrified in 1925 but closed following a fatal accident in 1939. The tracks are still in existence.

Districts

The city comprises the following districts:

• Banqueta
• Bela Vista
• Boiadeiro
• Esplanada
• Goiabal
• Granja
• Ilha Gama Cerqueira
• Ilha do Lazareto
• Ilha Recreio
• Jaqueira
• Jardim Paraíso
• Morro dos Cabritos
• Morro da Conceição
• Morro do Cipó
• Parada Breves
• Porto Novo
• Porto Velho
• Praça da Bandeira
• Santa Marta
• Santa Rita
• Santa Rosa
• São Geraldo
• São José
• São Sebastião
• Sítio Branco
• Terra do Santo
• Terreirão
• Timbira
• Vila Caxias
• Vila Laroca

See also

• List of municipalities in Minas Gerais