Sobral 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 the state of

Ceará Ceará (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the ...

, Brazil. Sobral is the fifth largest municipality of Ceará, after

Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...

. Its economy is based on agriculture, services and some manufacturing industries. The city has two public universities:

Universidade Federal do Ceará The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

) and Universidade Estadual do Vale do Acaraú. It also has private universities, such as , Unopar, and − a theological institute. The city is the seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Sobral The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sobral ( la, Dioecesis Sobralensis) is a diocese located in the city of Sobral in the Ecclesiastical province of Fortaleza in Brazil. History * November 10, 1915: Established as Diocese of Sobral from the Diocese o ...

. The city is known for being the place where the

astronomical observation Observational astronomy is a division of astronomy that is concerned with recording data about the observable universe, in contrast with theoretical astronomy, which is mainly concerned with calculating the measurable implications of physical m ...

of a

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...

on May 29, 1919, by a team of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

scientists led by

Sir Frank Watson Dyson Sir Frank Watson Dyson, KBE, FRS, FRSE (8 January 1868 – 25 May 1939) was an English astronomer and the ninth Astronomer Royal who is remembered today largely for introducing time signals ("pips") from Greenwich, England, and for the role ...

was offered as the first proof of

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

's theory of

general relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity and Einstein's theory of gravity, is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physics ...

, which had been published in 1916. The town's ("Museum of the Eclipse") celebrates this event. There is a monument in Patrocínio Square marking the location of this solar eclipse. A planetarium was also inaugurated in 2015 next to this monument.

Government

* Ivo Gomes ( PDT)

Climate

The climate of Sobral is hot almost all year. The temperature in the municipality varies from 22 to 36 °C (72 to 97 °F).

Education

Universities

* Universidade Vale do Acaraú (Acaraú Valley University) * Universidade Federal do Ceará (Federal University of Ceará) There are 105 schools in the city.

Public schools

* Escola Municipal de Ensino Fundamental Sinhá Saboia * Escola Estadual Dom José Tupinambá da Frota * Escola Municipal Emílio Sendim * Escola Municipal Maria do Carmo de Andrade * Escola Municipal Mocinha Rodrigues * Escola Padre Osvaldo Chaves * Escola Prof Gerardo Rodrigues de Albuquerque * colégio sobralense de tempo integral maria dias ibiapína

Private schools

* Escola Sant´Ana * Escola Luciano Feijão * Escola Farias Brito Sobralense * Escola José Romão * Escola do Patrocinio * Escola São Francisco de Assis * colégio maria imaculada

Media

Radio

The city has thirteen radio stations. * Jovem Pan FM * Rede Jangadeiro * Rede Som Zoom Sat * Rede Plus FM * Coqueiros FM * Paraíso FM * Public Radio * Sobral Public Radio * Caiçara AM * Tupinambá AM * Regional * Ressureição * Educadora do Nordeste de Sobral

Television

The city has one television station, NordesTV.

Tourist attractions

* Museu do Eclipse (Museum) * Museu Dom José (Museum) * Museu MADI (Museum) * Teatro São José (Theatre) * Teatro São João (Theatre) * Biblioteca Pública Municipal (Library)

Access

Four roads give access to the city:

BR-222 The BR-222 is a Brazilian federal highway that connects the cities of Fortaleza, in the state of Ceará, to Marabá, Pará Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazil ...

, , CE-441 and BR-220. The city is served by Cel. Virgílio Távora Airport.

Notable people

Ciro Gomes Ciro Ferreira Gomes (; born 6 November 1957), known mononymously as Ciro, is a Brazilian politician, lawyer, and academic. Ciro is currently affiliated with and vice-president of the Democratic Labour Party (PDT). Born in São Paulo but rais ...

, former governor and mayor of Fortaleza, former finance minister (Originally from

Pindamonhangaba Pindamonhangaba is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, located in the Paraíba Valley, between the two most active production and consumption regions in the country, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. It is accessible by the Via Dutra ( ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

) *

Florent Amodio Florent Amodio (born 12 May 1990) is a French figure skating coach and former competitor. He is the 2011 European champion, a four-time French national champion (2010, 2013-2015), and the 2008 JGP Final champion. He has represented France at t ...

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

* Maria Tomásia Figueira Lima (1826-1902), aristocrat, abolitionist *

Cid Gomes Cid Ferreira Gomes (born 27 April 1963) is a Brazilian politician who serves as a Senator for the state of Ceará since 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Labour Party (PDT) since 2015, and is the brother of fellow Brazilian politician Cir ...

, former governor * Patrícia Saboya, former

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

* Antônio

Renato Aragão Antônio Renato Aragão (born January 13, 1935), nicknamed Didi, is a Brazilian comedian actor, producer, filmmaker, TV presenter, singer and writer. He is best known as Didi, because of his leading role in the television series ''Os Trapalhões ...

, comic actor, film producer, and writer * Belchior, singer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sobral, Ceara Municipalities in Ceará Populated places established in 1772