Sobral, Ceará

Sobral
City waterfront
Flag Seal
Nickname:  "Princesa do Norte" (North's Princess)
Motto:  Sobral cada vez melhor
Location in the state of Ceará and Brazil
Sobral Location in Brazil
Coordinates: 03°40′26″S 40°14′20″W
Country	Brazil
Region	Northeast
State	Ceará
Settled	July 5, 1773
Government
• Mayor	Ivo Gomes (PDT)
Area
• Total	2,122.898 km2 (819.656 sq mi)
Elevation	70 m (230 ft)
Population  (2018 est.)
• Total	206,644
• Density	97/km2 (250/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-3 (UTC-3)
HDI (2010)	0.714 – UNDP
Website	www.sobral.ce.gov.br
National Historic Heritage of Brazil
Designated	1379
Reference no.	944

A general view of the city's downtown area as photographed from the seat of the city government

A historical building in downtown Sobral

Sobral is a municipality in the state of Ceará, Brazil.

Sobral is the fifth largest municipality of Ceará, after Fortaleza. Its economy is based on agriculture, services and some manufacturing industries. The city has two public universities: Universidade Federal do Ceará) and Universidade Estadual do Vale do Acaraú. It also has private universities, such as Faculdade Luciano Feijão, Unopar, and UNINTA − a theological institute. The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sobral.

The city is known for being the place where the astronomical observation of a solar eclipse on May 29, 1919, by a team of British scientists led by Sir Frank Watson Dyson was offered as the first proof of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, which had been published in 1916. The town's Museu do Eclipse ("Museum of the Eclipse") celebrates this event. There is a monument in Patrocínio Square marking the location of this solar eclipse. A planetarium was also inaugurated in 2015 next to this monument.

Government

• Ivo Gomes (PDT)

Climate

The climate of Sobral is hot almost all year. The temperature in the municipality varies from 22 to 36 °C (72 to 97 °F).

Education

Universities

• Universidade Vale do Acaraú (Acaraú Valley University)
• Universidade Federal do Ceará (Federal University of Ceará)

There are 105 schools in the city.

Public schools

• Escola Municipal de Ensino Fundamental Sinhá Saboia
• Escola Estadual Dom José Tupinambá da Frota
• Escola Municipal Emílio Sendim
• Escola Municipal Maria do Carmo de Andrade
• Escola Municipal Mocinha Rodrigues
• Escola Padre Osvaldo Chaves
• Escola Prof Gerardo Rodrigues de Albuquerque
• colégio sobralense de tempo integral maria dias ibiapína

Private schools

• Escola Sant´Ana
• Escola Luciano Feijão
• Escola Farias Brito Sobralense
• Escola José Romão
• Escola do Patrocinio
• Escola São Francisco de Assis
• colégio maria imaculada

Media

Radio

The city has thirteen radio stations.

• Jovem Pan FM
• Rede Jangadeiro
• Rede Som Zoom Sat
• Rede Plus FM
• Coqueiros FM
• Paraíso FM
• Public Radio
• Sobral Public Radio
• Caiçara AM
• Tupinambá AM
• Regional
• Ressureição
• Educadora do Nordeste de Sobral

Television

The city has one television station, NordesTV.

Tourist attractions

• Museu do Eclipse (Museum)
• Museu Dom José (Museum)
• Museu MADI (Museum)
• Teatro São José (Theatre)
• Teatro São João (Theatre)
• Biblioteca Pública Municipal (Library)

Access

Four roads give access to the city: BR-222, CE-440, CE-441 and BR-220.

The city is served by Cel. Virgílio Távora Airport.

Notable people

• Ciro Gomes, former governor and mayor of Fortaleza, former finance minister
• Florent Amodio, figure skater
• Cid Gomes, former governor
• Patrícia Saboya Gomes, former senator
• Antônio Renato Aragão, comic actor, film producer, and writer
• Belchior, singer

External links

• Photo of museum and monument Sobral where Einstein's theory of relativity was proven at the Wayback Machine (archived October 29, 2008)