São João del-Rei, also spelled São João del Rey or São João del Rei, is a Brazilian municipality in the state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

. Founded in 1713 in homage to King

John V of Portugal Dom John V ( pt, João Francisco António José Bento Bernardo; 22 October 1689 – 31 July 1750), known as the Magnanimous (''o Magnânimo'') and the Portuguese Sun King (''o Rei-Sol Português''), was King of Portugal from 9 December 1706 ...

, the city is famed for its historic

Portuguese colonial architecture Portuguese colonial architecture refers to the various styles of Portuguese architecture built across the Portuguese Empire. Portuguese colonial architecture can be found in the plethora of former colonies throughout South America, North Africa, S ...

. The current population is estimated at 90,497 inhabitants. Other historical cities in Minas Gerais are

Ouro Preto Ouro Preto (, ''Black Gold''), formerly Vila Rica (, ''Rich Village''), is a city in and former capital of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a former colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains and designated a World Herita ...

Diamantina Diamantina may refer to: Geography Australia * Diamantina Bowen (1833-1893), ''grande dame'' of Queensland and the wife of Sir George Bowen, the first Governor of Queensland. * ''Diamantina Cocktail'', 1976 album by Little River Band * Diam ...

Mariana Mariana may refer to: Literature * ''Mariana'' (Dickens novel), a 1940 novel by Monica Dickens * ''Mariana'' (poem), a poem by Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson * ''Mariana'' (Vaz novel), a 1997 novel by Katherine Vaz Music *"Mariana", a so ...

Tiradentes Joaquim José da Silva Xavier (; 12 November 1746 – 21 April 1792), known as Tiradentes (), was a leading member of the colonial Brazilian revolutionary movement known as Inconfidência Mineira, whose aim was full independence from Po ...

Congonhas Congonhas (Congonhas do Campo until 1948) is a historical Brazilian city located in the state of Minas Gerais. It is situated south from Belo Horizonte, the capital of state of Minas Gerais, by the highway BR-040. As of 2020, the city had a popul ...

and

Sabará Sabará is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. The city belongs to Greater Belo Horizonte, the Belo Horizonte metropolitan region and to the associated microregion. It is a well preserved historic city and retains th ...

Geography

It is located in the drainage basin 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 ...

and its terrain is located in the

Mantiqueira mountains The Mantiqueira Mountains (Portuguese: ''Serra da Mantiqueira iterally: Mantiqueira Mountains Chain') are a mountain range in Southeastern Brazil, with parts in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. It rises abruptly from the ...

. It is a centre for the cities in the south and southeast of

. The municipality contains part of the

Ritápolis National Forest Ritápolis National Forest ( pt, Floresta Nacional de Ritápolis) is a national forest in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Location The Ritápolis National Forest covers of Atlantic Forest. It covers parts of the municipalities of São João ...

. According to the modern (2017) geographic classification by Brazil's National Institute of Geography and Statistics (

IBGE The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information ...

), the municipality belongs to the

Immediate Geographic Region of São João del-Rei The Immediate Geographic Region of São João del-Rei is one of the 10 immediate geographic regions in the Intermediate Geographic Region of Barbacena, one of the 70 immediate geographic regions in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais and one of ...

, in the

Intermediate Geographic Region of Barbacena The Intermediate Geographic Region of Barbacena (code 3107) is one of the 13 intermediate geographic regions in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais and one of the 134 of Brazil, created by the National Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) ...

History

The city was founded by the

bandeirantes The ''Bandeirantes'' (), literally "flag-carriers", were slavers, explorers, adventurers, and fortune hunters in early Colonial Brazil. They are largely responsible for Brazil's great expansion westward, far beyond the Tordesillas Line of 1494 ...

; Tomé Portes del-Rei is considered the city's founder. The original small village situated in southern

was created as a staging post on the

Estrada Real Estrada Real (, ''Royal Road'') was an epithet applied to the roads built and maintained by the Portuguese Crown both in Portugal itself and in the Portuguese overseas territories. Presently it is used to designate a set of colonial-era to ...

, a trade route from the coast at

Paraty Paraty (or Parati, ) is a preserved Portuguese colonial (1500–1822) and Brazilian Imperial (1822–1889) municipality with a population of about 43,000. Indeed, the name "Paraty" originates from the local Guaianá Indians' Indigenous Tupi ...

to cities in the central region of Minas Gerais such as

and

Conselheiro Lafaiete Conselheiro Lafaiete is a city of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It was known as Queluz until 1934, when it was renamed by decree, as a tribute to Counselor Lafayette Rodrigues Pereira It is situated 96 km south from Belo Horizonte, cap ...

. Later huge amounts of gold were found near the city itself.

Culture

Today, São João del-Rei is a university town. The campus of the

Federal University of São João del-Rei The Federal University of São João del-Rei ( pt, Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei, UFSJ) is a Brazilian university in the city of São João del-Rei in the state of Minas Gerais. It has other campuses in the cities of Ouro Branco, Di ...

(UFSJ) and a number of other educational institutions are present in the city. A second medical school is to be established at the University. The city has many famous religious festivals through the year, most of them preserving the way it was celebrated by the time of the foundation, with baroque music and special celebrations that attracts tourists from all over the world, particularly during Holy Week, when the town receives the greatest influx of visitors.

Cathedrals and churches

* Catedral Basílica Nossa Sehora do Pilar (1721), a

Minor Basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

, dedicated to

Our Lady of the Pillar Our Lady of the Pillar ( es, Nuestra Señora del Pilar) is the name given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the context of the traditional belief that Mary, while living in Jerusalem, supernaturally appeared to the Apostle James the Greater in AD 4 ...

, the episcopal seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of São João del Rei The Roman Catholic Diocese of São João del Rei ( la, Dioecesis Sancti Ioannis a Rege) is a suffragan Latin rite diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan of Juiz de Fora in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Its (Marian) cathedral epi ...

http://www.gcatholic.org/churches/brazil/0936.htm GCatholic, with Google satellite map * Rosário (1720) * Carmo (1733) * Mercês e Bonfim (1769) * São Francisco de Assis (1774) * Senhor dos Montes Santo Antônio * Nostra Senhora da Piedade do Bom Despacho

Notable people

(Brazilian national hero) *

Tancredo Neves Tancredo de Almeida Neves () (4 March 1910 – 21 April 1985) was a Brazilian politician, lawyer, and entrepreneur. He served as Minister of Justice and Interior Affairs from 1953 to 1954, Prime Minister from 1961 to 1962, Minister of Financ ...

(former Brazilian president) *

Lucas Moreira Neves Lucas Moreira Neves O.P. (16 September 1925 – 8 September 2002) was a Brazilian Cardinal Bishop and Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. Biography Moreira Neves was born in São João del Rei, in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. He was orda ...

(Brazilian cardinal) * Bárbara Heliodora *

Otto Lara Resende Otto Lara Resende (1 May 1922 – 28 December 1992) was a Brazilian journalist and writer. Biography Resende began teaching French at age fourteen and at eighteen years old began working as a journalist in the Belo Horizonte newspaper ''O Diár ...

Thiago Galhardo Thiago Galhardo Nascimento Rocha (born 20 July 1989), known as Thiago Galhardo, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Goiás, on loan from Fortaleza. Club career Born in São João del Rei, Minas Gera ...

Football player

Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas

São João del-Rei was an important station on the

Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas The Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas (EFOM) was a narrow-gauge railway located in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. At its peak the railway's route totalled . A portion of the railway still operates as a heritage railway, and one ...

, a

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

characterised by woodburning steam locomotives, and the location of a major roundhouse. The station and surrounding facilities have been turned into Brazil's largest railway museum, and a tourist railway operates from the station to the well preserved colonial town of

References

External links

*
Guia Turistico e Histórico de São João Del Rei
*
Municipal website

Guia del Rei
Municipalities in Minas Gerais {{MinasGerais-geo-stub