The Palácio Rio Negro in

Manaus Manaus () is the List of capitals of subdivisions of Brazil, capital and largest city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. It is the List of largest cities in Brazil, seventh-largest city in Brazil, w ...

, Brazil, is a former seat of government and residence of the governor of the state of Amazonas. The original name was Scholz Palace, built by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

entrepreneur Karl Waldemar Scholz, who was considered to be a "

Rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

". The name was changed to Palácio Rio Negro in 1918 when the palace was purchased by the governor of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, Pedro de Alcântara Bacellar.

History

The Scholz Palace was built in an

eclectic style Eclecticism is a kind of mixed style in the fine arts: "the borrowing of a variety of styles from different sources and combining them" . Significantly, Eclecticism hardly ever constituted a specific style in art: it is characterized by the fact t ...

in 1903 to be the private residence of the wealthy

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

merchant, Karl Waldemar Scholz. The state of Amazonas at the time was one of the most prosperous states in Brazil due to rubber production. In 1911, because of stiff competition from rubber production in Asia, there was a decline in the Amazon rubber trade. In addition, with the onset of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the navigation line between Manaus and Hamburg in Germany was interrupted, which greatly undermined the business of Scholz. Scholz, president of the Commercial Association of Amazonas from 1911 and consul of Austria since 1913, in an attempt to resolve his debts, mortgaged the residence for 400,000,000

réis The first official currency of Brazil was the real (pronounced ; pl. ''réis''), with the symbol Rs$. As the currency of the Portuguese empire, it was in use in Brazil from the earliest days of the colonial period, and remained in use until 1942 ...

(the currency of Brazil at that time) to a rich rubber trader of the Purus (a river in the Amazon region), Luiz da Silva Gomes, who later purchased the residence at auction. The Scholz family left the Amazon region and returned to Germany. At first, the Scholz Palace was rented to the government of Amazonas, for 1,000,000 réis per month, through the governor, Sir Pedro de Alcantara Bacellar, in spite of the economic crisis in the Amazon region, the shortcomings of the state secretary of finances and the criticism of his opponents. The government acquired the palace in 1918 for an amount of 200,000,000 réis, and it was given the name Palácio Rio Negro. From 1918 until 1995 it served as the seat of government in Amazonas state, although it ceased to be the governor's residence in 1959.

Cultural Center Palácio Rio Negro

In 1995 the government of the state of Amazonas transformed the palace into a museum, telling the story of rubber in the Amazon region, and an important center of cultural events for the city of Manaus.

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20160829104825/http://www.cultura.am.gov.br/centro-cultural-palacio-rio-negro/ * http://www.cultura.am.gov.br/? Manaus History museums in Brazil Buildings and structures in Amazonas (Brazilian state) Official residences in Brazil Palaces in Brazil Tourist attractions in Amazonas (Brazilian state) Houses completed in 1903 1903 establishments in Brazil Neoclassical architecture in Brazil {{Brazil-struct-stub

History

Cultural Center Palácio Rio Negro

See also

External links