Santa Cruz do Sul () is a city in central

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

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 ...

. The city has an estimate 131,000 inhabitants as of 2020 and sits about 150 km (93 miles) from the capital city of the state,

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...

. The city enjoys a high

standard of living Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...

and gross

income per capita The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...

is 2.5 times greater than that of the state of Rio Grande do Sul as a whole.

History

Santa Cruz do Sul was founded on March 31, 1877 by German immigrants, most of whom came from Hunsrück. Even today, the so-called Riograndenser Hunsrückisch is spoken actively in the area around the city. In 1924, a Protestant church was built according to the plans of two German architects. It is one of the largest Protestant Lutheran churches in Rio Grande do Sul and the largest neo-Romanesque church in Latin America. The Protestant church, renovated in 1999 with an organ from 1887 of the German company Ibach from Barmen.

Demographics

The population of Santa Cruz do Sul has steadily increased, with help from

immigration to Brazil Immigration to Brazil is the movement to Brazil of foreign peoples to reside permanently. It should not be confused with the colonization of the country by the Portuguese, or with the forcible bringing of people from Africa as slaves. Latin ...

during its early history – in 1849 there were 12 inhabitants, ten years later the city population had reached 2723 people, and in 1878 there were ten thousand inhabitants. Most of the early immigrants were farmers and craftsmen.

Agriculture

The area around Santa Cruz do Sul is mainly agricultural, and produces large quantities of

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

and

soy bean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu a ...

s for animal fodder. Most of the tobacco produced in the area is exported as a raw material for

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

manufacturing plants all over the world. Soy bean processing plants sell several million tons of animal fodder annually, for domestic use and for export.

Oktoberfest

Each year, the citizens of Santa Cruz do Sul and visitors from the region celebrate

Oktoberfest The Oktoberfest (; bar, Wiesn, Oktobafest) is the world's largest Volksfest, featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival. It is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16- to 18-day folk festival running from mid- or ...

. The city has a large population of

German-Brazilian German Brazilians (German language, German: ''Deutschbrasilianer'', Hunsrik: ''Deitschbrasiliooner'', pt, teuto-brasileiros) refers to Brazilians of full or partial Germans, German ancestry. German Brazilians live mostly in the country's South ...

s. Thousands turn out each year for the celebration. The Oktoberfest in Santa Cruz do Sul is the third largest in the world, leaving behind only the Oktoberfest in Munich in Germany and Oktoberfest Blumenau of the state of Santa Cartarina in Brazil as well.

Tourism

The Cathedral of São João Batista is one of the main tourist draws in the city. The adjacent block in front of the Cathedral,

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Brazi ...

Square, is adorned with fountains and trees. São João Batista Cathedral is one of the largest cathedrals in all of Brazil. The main edifice was built between 1928 and 1932 and the two 82-meter (269 ft) tall towers were added later.

Sports

The

Autódromo Internacional de Santa Cruz do Sul Autódromo Internacional de Santa Cruz do Sul is a motorsports circuit located in Santa Cruz do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul. It has been host to the Formula 3 Sudamericana, Fórmula Truck and Stock Car Brasil Stock Car Pro Series, formerly known ...

is a motorsport racetrack opened in 2005. It hosts rounds of the

Stock Car Pro Series Stock Car Pro Series, formerly known as Stock Car Brasil, is a touring car auto racing series based in Brazil organized by Vicar. It is considered the major Brazilian and South American motorsports series. Starting in 1979 with Chevrolet as the ...

and

Copa Truck The Copa Truck is a Brazilian auto racing series, composed of trucks prepared for race. The category replaces the Fórmula Truck series in 2017. History The origin of the category came after nine teams left Formula Truck because of disagreement ...

. The two main football clubs are

Esporte Clube Avenida Esporte Clube Avenida, commonly referred to as Avenida, is a Brazilian football club based in Santa Cruz do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul. It currently plays in Campeonato Gaúcho Série A2, the second level of the Rio Grande do Sul state football le ...

and

Futebol Clube Santa Cruz Futebol Clube Santa Cruz is a Brazilian football club from Santa Cruz do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, founded on March 26, 1913. Its rival is Esporte Clube Avenida. Achievements * Campeonato Gaúcho Second Level: ** Runners-up (2): 1952, 1983 *C ...

, which play in the

Campeonato Gaúcho Série A2 The Campeonato Gaúcho Série A2 (Gaucho Championship Series A2) are the football tournament for the Rio Grande do Sul clubs that do not play in the Campeonato Gaúcho Série A1 in Brazil. The competitions are organized by the Rio Grande do Su ...

Transportation

The city is served by Luiz Beck da Silva Airport.

Awards

The Prefeitura Municipal de Santa Cruz do Sul won a 2004

Energy Globe Award In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat ...

for the João-de-Barro Bom-Plac House Project.

Notable people

Ana Hickmann Ana Lúcia Hickmann (; born 1 March 1981) is a Brazilian model, TV host and businesswoman who has worked for Victoria's Secret, Nivea, L'Oreal, Wella, Clairol and Bloomingdales. She has appeared in the South African version of the Sports Illus ...

, Brazilian model *

Lucas Kohl Lucas Bell Kohl (born May 4, 1998) is a Brazilian racing driver.
, ''usf2000.com'', September 28, 2018, ...

, Brazilian racing driver *

Irton Marx Irton Marx (born 1947) is a Brazilian journalist, politician, and gaucho activist. He is known for organizing a movement to separate the southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, to form a new country called "Republic of Pampas". Early ...

, journalist and politician *

Henrique Mecking Henrique Costa Mecking (born 23 January 1952), also known as Mequinho, is a Brazilian chess grandmaster who reached his zenith in the 1970s and is still one of the strongest players in Brazil. He was a chess prodigy, drawing comparisons to Bobby ...

, Brazilian chess Grandmaster

Notes

References

External links

* * *
Santa Cruz do Sul City Hall website
*
Gazeta do Sul - News from Santa Cruz do SulEstacionamento Rotativo de Santa Cruz do Sul - RapidinhoSanta Cruz Oktoberfest siteA Communitarian University - Universidade de Santa Cruz do Sul
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Cruz Do Sul Populated places established in 1877 German-Brazilian culture 1877 establishments in Brazil Municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul