São Leopoldo
City of São Leopoldo | |
|---|---|
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname: The Giant of the Valley (O Gigante do Vale) | |
 Location in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil | |
| Country | Brazil |
| Region | South |
| State | Rio Grande do Sul |
| Demonym | capilé or leopoldense |
| Founded | July 25, 1824 |
| Incorporated | April 1, 1846 (town) |
| 1864 (city) | |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Anibal Moacir da Silva (PSDB) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 102.313 km2 (39.503 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 26 m (85 ft) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 214,210 |
| • Density | 2,093.67/km2 (5,422.6/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-3 (UTC-3) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-2 (UTC-2) |
| Website | Prefeitura de São Leopoldo |
São Leopoldo is an important Brazilian industrial city located in the south state of Rio Grande do Sul.
Geography
It occupies a total area of 103.9 km² (around 80 km² urban area) at circa 30 km from the State Capital, Porto Alegre. The climate is sub-tropical, with temperatures varying from 2°C minimum at Winter to more than 40°C maximum during summer time. Summers are fairly dry.
History
Established on July 25, 1824, by German immigrants, São Leopoldo is considered the cradle of German culture in Brazil, that is to say, it is the first official city designed by the national Brazilian governor to start the German plan of immigration in the country. It had, in 2006, a population of approximately 210,000.
São Leopoldo is one of the 13 cities along the Rota Romântica ('Romantic Route'), a touristic scenic route that runs from the State Capital towards the Serra Gaúcha.
Minority language
Riograndenser Hunsrückisch is a regional language in South America like Pennsylvania Deitsch is in North America. They are also similar because of their origin in the Rhine region of southwest Germany. As a Brazilian variant of European Franconian languages, it is also spoken beyond the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where for almost two hundred years it has been historically centered and where most of its 2 to 3 millions speakers live (there are speakers in neighboring southern Brazilian states, as well as in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay).
There are many other municipalities with this bilingual profile throughout the state and the German language is experiencing a strong revival: In 2012 the state chamber of deputies voted unanimously in favor of recognizing the Hunsrückisch Germanic dialect of Rio Grande do Sul an official historical Intangible cultural heritage to be preserved.[1][2]
Education
The area once had a German school, Instituto Preteologico.[3]
Gallery
External links
References
- ^ LEI 14.061 - Declara integrante do patrimônio histórico e cultural do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul a “Língua Hunsrik”, de origem germânica
- ^ LEI Nº 14.061, de 23 de julho de 2012 - Declara integrante do patrimônio histórico e cultural do estado do Rio Grande do Sul a língua hunsrik, de origem germânica
- ^ "Deutscher Bundestag 4. Wahlperiode Drucksache IV/3672" (Archive). Bundestag (West Germany). 23 June 1965. Retrieved on 12 March 2016. p. 19/51.
 | This geographical article relating to Rio Grande do Sul is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |