Barra is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. Barra covers , and has a population of 53,910 with a population density of 4.3 inhabitants per square kilometer.
Barra was originally settled by
Xakriabá people who lived along the
Rio São Francisco
Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil.
Rio or Río may also refer to:
Geography Brazil
* Rio de Janeiro
* Rio do Sul, a ...
. A corral of Casa da Torre of Dias D’Ávila was established in the ravines of the
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico.
The length of the Rio G ...
(Bahia) in 1670 at the junction of the Rio Grande and São Francisco.
The
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
s built a chapel in 1680 and it became locally known as São Francisco das Chagas da Barra do Rio Grande do Sul. This settlement became the Vila de São Francisco do Rio Grande do Sul in 1752. The name was simplified in 1873 to Barra do Rio Grande, and again in 1931 to Barra.
Barra was one of the most prosperous cities in the state of Bahia due to commercial traffic along the Rio São Francisco. Roadways were built into the interior of Bahia in the 1970s and Barra lost its importance to inland
water transportation
Water transportation is the international movement of water over large distances. Methods of transportation fall into three categories:
* Aqueducts, which include pipelines, canals, tunnels and bridges
* Container shipment, which includes trans ...
. Additionally, the highway system did not extend to Barra. The municipality fell into decline and many residents left to look for work elsewhere. Barra was ultimately connected by highway to other areas of Bahia in 1998.
The municipality is served by
Barra Airport.
See also
*
List of municipalities in Bahia
This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Bahia (BA), located in the Northeast Region of Brazil. Bahia is divided into 417 municipalities, which are grouped into 32 microregions, which are grouped into 7 mesoregions.
See also
* ...
References
External links
Página da PrefeituraPágina Pró-BrasilInstituto Tânia & Aydano RorizPágina Giramundo
Municipalities in Bahia
{{Bahia-geo-stub