Blumenau and São Francisco do Sul in Brazil
Blumenau is in a prosperous district settled mostly by Germans. A clean, orderly city with some almost caricatured Germanic architecture, the
enxaimel
design (exposed beams and brickwork) typifies some of the more famous buildings such as the mayor's residence
, the
Molemann Shopping Centre
, built to resemble a medieval German castle, and the
Museum of the Colonial Family
The first Germans to arrive were the philosopher Herman Bruno Otto Blumenau and 16 other German explorers, who sailed up the river in 1850. Work began on building schools, houses and the first plantations; the city soon became a notable textile centre. Today, high-tech and electronics industries are replacing textiles as the town's economic mainstay.
Sights of interest include the German Evangelical Church, and the houses of Dr Bruno Otto Blumenau and of Fritz Müller. The latter two are now museums and are worth a visit. Müller, a collaborator of Darwin, bought the Blumenau estate in 1897 and founded the town. The Museu da Cerveja, examines the history of the region's breweries and the origins of Oktoberfest. Just out of town, the Museu Pomerano, tells the story of the colonial family.
The
Parque Ecológico Spitzkopf
From the riverside road opposite the prefeitura in Blumenau, you can take a bus past rice fields and wooden houses set in beautiful gardens to Pomerode 33 km north of Blumenau. There's an interesting zoo, founded in 1932 and the oldest in the state, which houses over 600 animals of different species. Next door, Schornstein is a restaurant with its own microbrewery, serving excellent German food. There is a tourist office, and the Associação dos Artistas e Artesãos de PomerodeInext door to the prefeitura municipal, has exhibitions of local arts and crafts and a shop. The north German dialect of Plattdeutsch is still spoken here and there are several folkloric groups keeping alive the music and dance of their ancestors: Alpino Germánico, Pomerano, Edelweiss and Belgard. Shooting and hunting is also traditional in the area and there are 16 Clubes de Caça e Tiro, which are active at all festivities. The men compete for the title of 'Rei do Tiro Municipal' in July and the women compete for the 'Rainha do Tiro Municipal' in November.
A half-day excursion to Gaspar (15 km) allows you to visit the cathedral, Igreja Matriz São Pedro Apóstolo, set high above the river. To get here take a Verde Vale bus from the stop outside the huge supermarket on Rua 7 de Setembro in the centre of Blumenau . There are four water parks in Gaspar with water slides and other amusements. Two of the best are; Parque Aquático Cascanéia, with chalets, parking, restaurants; and on the same street, Cascata Berlim, with camping facilities, a natural pool and a restaurant.
Blumenau to Iguaçu
An alternative to taking a direct bus from Florianópolis or Blumenau to Iguaçu, is to travel through rich and interesting farming country in Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, stopping at the following places.
Joaçaba
is a town of German immigrants, in the centre of the Vale do Contestado; for information call T047-3522 3000.
Erexim
has a strong
gaúcho
influence.
Iraí
, a town with thermal springs, is situated in an Italian immigrant area and is good for semi-precious stones. From any of these places you can go to Pato Branco and Cascavel and then to Foz do Iguaçu.
wo hours from Joaçaba is Treze Tílias, a village where 19th-century Tyrolean dialect is still spoken and the immigrant culture is perfectly preserved. It was settled in 1933 by a group led by Andreas Thaler, who had been the Austrian minister of agriculture. Dairy farming is the main economic activity and children are taught German and Portuguese in school. The style of architecture has been lifted straight from the Alps and the city prides itself on being in the mountains, with all the associated romanticizing of European mountain life found in such resorts throughout Brazil. It may get a bit chilly but it never snows. The major festivity of the year is the four-day Tirolerfest in October, celebrating the customs of the Tirol, with food, sculpture and art. There's tourist office, and buses run to and from Joaçaba and Blumenau.
wo hours from Joaçaba is Treze Tílias, a village where 19th-century Tyrolean dialect is still spoken and the immigrant culture is perfectly preserved. It was settled in 1933 by a group led by Andreas Thaler, who had been the Austrian minister of agriculture. Dairy farming is the main economic activity and children are taught German and Portuguese in school. The style of architecture has been lifted straight from the Alps and the city prides itself on being in the mountains, with all the associated romanticizing of European mountain life found in such resorts throughout Brazil. It may get a bit chilly but it never snows. The major festivity of the year is the four-day Tirolerfest in October, celebrating the customs of the Tirol, with food, sculpture and art. There's tourist office, and buses run to and from Joaçaba and Blumenau.
At the mouth of the Baia de Babitonga, São Francisco do Sul is the port for the town of
Joinville
, 45 km inland at the head of the Rio Cachoeira. It is the country's third oldest city (Binot Paulmier de Gonneville landed here in 1504), after Porto Seguro in Bahia and São Vicente in Rio de Janeiro. The colonial centre has over 150 historical sites and has been protected since 1987. An interesting,
Museu Nacional do Mar
cathedral
, Nossa Senhora da Graça (1719), still has its original walls made with sand, shells and whale oil. The
Museu Histórico de São Francisco do Sul
There are about 13 excellent beaches nearby, such as Ubatuba, Enseada (which has good nightlife, hotels, pensions and three campsites), Prainha (surf championships are held here) and Cápri. Quieter waters can be found at Ingleses, Figueiras, Paulas and Calixtos but, being in the bay, the sea is polluted. A ferry crosses the Baia de Babitonga from Bairro Laranjeiras, 8 km from the centre, to Estaleiro, 30 minutes. The historic town of Vila da Glória, 6 km from Estaleiro, can be visited. Take mosquito repellent.
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This is edited copy from Footprint Handbooks. For comprehensive details (incl address, tel no, directions, opening times and prices) please refer to book or individual chapter PDF
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