Westfália is a municipality in the state of
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 s ...
,
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
.
History
The namesake of the municipality is derived from the Westphalia region in Germany where many of the early immigrants came from, although others from across Germany came as well. Westfália was founded in 1858 as the ''Colônia Teutônia'', along with some of the other nearby towns. In 1996 Westfália emancipated from the nearby localities,
Teutônia
Teutônia is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
History
Teutônia is a region that began being developed in 1858, when the merchant Carlos Schilling acquired vacant lands in the region. The name Teutônia has its origi ...
and
Imigrante, to form its own independent municipality.
Economy
Westfália is primarily an agricultural town, although the town does bring in a fair amount of tourism and other economical activities are present such as industry and services.
The main agricultural productions are cattle, poultry, and swine, as well as eggs and milk. Westfália also has a high productivity of corn.
The industry sector closely follows the agricultural one, with some of the bigger industries in town being the productions of frozen meats and foods, followed by furniture and lumber.
Tourism is primarily based around the town's Germanic flare and heritage, as well as some eco-tourism. Lately business has become big in the town with locals attracting visitors with their handicrafts. Some common examples include mementos like baskets and wooden shoes (which features as a symbol for Westfália) and local delicacies such handmade cheeses, jams, and candy.
Culture
Westfália stands out in the region due to its very German essence which not only stands out in the architecture, but in how the town functions and in locals as well. Most events around town are based on the residents' German heritage and
Low Saxon
Low Saxon (), also known as West Low German () are a group of Low German dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and southern Denmark (in North Schleswig by parts of the German-speaking minority). It is one of two di ...
is still spoken to some degree, in fact since the year 2016,
Low Saxon
Low Saxon (), also known as West Low German () are a group of Low German dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and southern Denmark (in North Schleswig by parts of the German-speaking minority). It is one of two di ...
is the co-official language according to the law 1302. Much of the town is also descended from Germans, with the 2010 IBGE census stating that 97.84% of the population considers themselves descended from European immigrants (mostly German, although Italians, Portuguese, and others are very much present). Westfália also has a very high percentage of Lutherans, with 79.10% of the population claiming to follow that faith, one of the highest not just in the state, but all of Brazil.
See also
*
List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul
This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), located in the South Region of Brazil. Rio Grande do Sul is divided into 497 municipalities, which are grouped into 35 microregions, which are grouped into 7 mesoregio ...
References
External links
Municipal Website''(In Portuguese)''
Municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul
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