Petrópolis

關於Petrópolis

Petrópolis 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...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.