Juiz de Fora (; ), also known as J.F., is a city in the southeastern Brazilian state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

, approximately from the state border with

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. According to the 2022 census the current population is 540,756 inhabitants. The geographical area of the municipality is . The city's location was a key factor in its economic and demographic development since it is situated between the three most important financial and economic metropolises of

southeast Brazil The Southeast Region of Brazil ( ) is composed of the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. It is the richest region of the country, responsible for approximately 53% of the Brazilian GDP (2022) , as São Paulo, ...

(and also the three largest

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...

s of the country): Rio de Janeiro (), Belo Horizonte () and

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

(). Major highways connect Juiz de Fora with these three metropolitan areas, the most important being the BR 040 which connects

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

with

via

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

. The city is built on the Paraibuna, a major tributary of the Paraíba do Sul river.

History

The origins of Juiz de Fora can be traced back to the beginnings of the 18th century, when the Caminho Novo (''New Way'') road was opened linking

to the gold rush area of

around Vila Rica (now

Ouro Preto Ouro Preto (, ), formerly Vila Rica (, ), is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The city, a former Brazilian Gold Rush, colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains, was designated a ...

). The region was covered with dense forest (hence its name; "Zona da Mata", ''Forest Zone''). Despite the opening of the new route the area remained largely uninhabited and most of its scarce settlement was centered on the road itself. The first permanent inhabitants of the municipality were merchants and farmers who supplied the travelers' needs on the long road between the coast and the gold region. Further development would only take place after the decline of gold mining in the central zone of

. The capital previously invested in the mines was now invested in coffee plantations, and the region of Zona da Mata became a fertile ground to invest in. The position of the village then called Santo Antônio do Paraibuna was favourable due to the road connection with the capital of the country and its harbour. In 1850 the small village was officially elevated to city status. Progress continued in 1861 with the completion of the first macadamized road in Latin America, the Estrada União e Indústria (Union and Industry), replacing the Caminho Novo. Its name reflected the newfound wealth of the city, for industry replaced coffee-related agriculture as its economic heart. Five years later a new railway, the Estrada de Ferro Dom Pedro II, reached the city and in 1889 the first hydroelectric powerplant of Latin America ( Marmelos Zero) was built on the Paraibuna river on the outskirts of the city along the Estrada União e Indústria. As both foreign and domestic capital fueled the industrial boom the city became a major centre (becoming the largest urban area of the state). By first decade of the 20th century Juiz de Fora was among the main textile and industrial producers in South America and in

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 ...

particularly. The city's wealth was second only to major cities such as

and

. But as the coffee rush frontier moved southwestwards it reached the

state of São Paulo State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and its immensely fertile plateaus which became the richest in the federation and industry flourished there as it had in Juiz de Fora itself. The city of Juiz de Fora became the major industrial centre in a state that was being much surpassed by

in industrial output, and worse still much of the wealth generated by the state (a large bulk by Juiz de Fora itself) was being used in the building of the new state capital

(replacing

at the centre of the gold region), founded at the end of the 19th century and which, in the Brazilian and Latin-American tradition of centralization, was intended to be the largest city of the state. The

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

of the 1930s worsened the city's decay which would only be overcome five decades later. By the 1940s the city had lost its nationwide influence due to the continued growth of Belo Horizonte and the loss of industry. The city's decay can be seen in the figures for its population which remained stagnant from the early 1930s to the late 1960s. By the mid-1970s, the city started to experience new growth, which continues to this day. This new era began with the establishment of a federal university ( UFJF) in the city and the decision by the Brazilian military junta (1964–1985) to promote the city as a major military centre. This sparked a phenomenon rarely experienced by post-industrial towns: the industrial rebirth of the city, this time following Brazilian industrialization itself, based on heavy-industry such as steel and engineering. Recently, the city seems to be experiencing a new era in its history, again following a boom in Brazilian economy, and is reinventing itself as a major centre for services (such as telecommunications, with an important call centre) and education (following the federal university, private colleges have been established in the city). Today Juiz de Fora is an important commercial centre for the surrounding region and is the core of an unofficial metropolitan area of more than 1 million inhabitants.

Geography

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

IBGE The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil. IBGE performs a decennial national cen ...

), the city is the main municipality in the Intermediate Geographic Region of Juiz de Fora.

Location

Juiz de Fora is located in southeast of Minas Gerais state. It is in a strategic location close to the important metropolitan areas of Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and São Paulo and on the main route from Rio de Janeiro to Belo Horizonte and Brasília. The distance of Juiz de Fora to important cities is: *

: *

: * Vitória: *

Climate

Although lying within tropical latitudes the climate is relatively mild. The altitude of makes the weather usually cooler and rainier than the lower surrounding areas. Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

Juiz de Fora's climate is classified as a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

with two distinct seasons, one hotter and rainier (October to April) and one cooler and drier (May to September). The average annual temperature is around with an average high of and an average low of . It is very humid with average humidity of 80%. The annual rainfall varies between .

Economy

Juiz de Fora is the third most important industrial center in the state of

, despite being the fourth largest in terms of population. It was once the state's largest city, a position which was held up until the beginning of the 20th century (it held the second position until the 1980s). There are important steel mills and automotive factories (

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...

being the most famous) in the city, along with several textile factories. The city is also an important trade center with a considerable area of influence, being considered the capital of the Zona da Mata region of the state. It has four big shopping malls, several hyper-marts and many smaller shops.

Transport

Major Roads

* BR-040, linking JF to north–south cities in the middle part of the

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and

, such as

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 popu ...

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, c ...

, Barbacena, Santos Dumont,

Sete Lagoas Sete Lagoas (meaning 'Seven Lagoons' in Portuguese) is a city in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The municipal area is 537;km2 while the population was 241,835 in 2020. Geography Location Sete Lagoas is situated about 70 kilometres from Be ...

, Três Rios, Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro and

. * BR-267, linking JF to east–west cities in the southern part of

, such as Leopoldina,

Bicas Bicas is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of Minas Gerais. its population is estimated to be 14,554 inhabitants. History Initially a breakpoint for salesmen in the 18th century, Bicas obtained its independence f ...

, Lima Duarte, Bom Jardim de Minas, Liberdade and Caxambu. * MG-353, linking JF to southwest and northeast in the southern part of

, such as Rio Preto, Santa Bárbara do Monte Verde, Coronel Pacheco, Goianá, Rio Novo, Guarani and Piraúba. * AMG-3085, Linking the BR-040 to the MG-353 and being used as a connection to get to the Itamar Franco Airport. It is also an important way to get to the borough Reprêsa.

Railways

* MRS Logística. Freight only.

Airports

* Francisco Álvares de Assis Airport, known popularly as "Serrinha", located within the city limits, approximately to the southwest of the centre in the district of "Aeroporto". Currently, the airport doesn't have any operation of commercial flights. Juiz de Fora Airport

* Pres. Itamar Franco Airport located north in the municipality of Goianá. Azul Linhas Áereas Brasileiras operates flights to Campinas (VCP) and GOL Linhas Áereas Inteligentes to Belo Horizonte (PLU) and São Paulo-Congonhas (CGH).

Culture

The massive presence of immigrants – especially from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, Italy, Germany,

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and more recently China – throughout its history has given the city a cosmopolitan spirit and diverse cuisine. Walking down Rio Branco Avenue, (the city's several kilometers long main avenue) one can find typical German, Italian, Arabic, Portuguese, Chinese and Japanese restaurants, as well as traditional Brazilian and vegetarian cuisine. Juiz de Fora is an important regional cultural center, one of the few towns in south-east Minas Gerais to have permanently functional cinemas, theatres, music venues and light entertainment. There is a nationally important museum ( Museu Mariano Procópio) and a Philharmonic Orchestra (Orquestra Filarmônica Pró-Musica). The city also hosts a yearly classical music festival, the Festival Internacional de Música Brasileira Colonial e Música Antiga (International Festival of Brazilian Colonial Music and Early Music). It is home to the " Meninos Cantores da Academia" the second oldest choir in this category in Brazil and to the Coral Universitário da Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora an eclectic and neat choir with a remarkable musical legacy of 50 years in the city. Cultural life is also boosted by many cinema, gastronomic and rock festivals like: "Primeiro Plano Juiz de fora Cinema Festival", "JF Sabor", "Deutsches Fest" (The festival celebrates and preserves the cultural customs, the gastronomy and everything related to the German traditions. In 2018, the party celebrated 160 years of the German immigration to Juiz de Fora), "Comida di Buteco JF" and "Festival de Bandas Novas". The rock festival has been supporting the local music scene and promoting countless new bands since 1999. The Federal University and several private-owned colleges in Juiz de Fora turn it in a highly sought destination for students. Some of the courses at the Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora are reputedly among the best in Brazil, considered the second best university in the state of Minas Gerais and 14th position among Brazilian universities according to international ranking in 2018. The cultural life of Juiz de Fora is marked by great eclecticism, which can be seen in its architecture.

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

buildings dating from the first decade of the 20th century are intermingled with those in

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style from the mid-20th century, and many modern concrete edifices including one building by

Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was b ...

Sport

Football

Juiz de Fora is the home of Tupi and Tupynambás. Tupi was the 1932 runner-up of

Campeonato Mineiro The Campeonato Mineiro is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. It is run by the Minas Gerais Football Federation (FMF). The history of Campeonato Mineiro can be divided into two parts: bef ...

,Tupi vence, estraga festa do Santa Cruz e conquista o título da Série D globoesporte.com
Globoesporte.globo.com (20 November 2011). and has won several city championships. Tupi won the Campeonato Mineiro Módulo II in 2001, was 3rd place in 2008 Campeonato Mineiro and won Taça Minas Gerais in 2008. It is widely regarded as one of the most important teams of the state, despite lacking national prestige. They won the 2011 Campeonato Brasileiro Série D (national fourth division) after beating Santa Cruz in both legs of the final, having qualified for the tournament after América de Teófilo Otoni withdrew before the start of the competition. In 2015, they finished 3rd place at the 2015 Campeonato Brasileiro Série C, achieving promotion for the Brazilian second tier for the first time in the team history. However, they finished 18th in the 2016 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B and was relegated back to Série C. After missing promotion in the final stage in 2017, the next year saw Tupi relegated to Série D due to goal difference. Meanwhile, after the 60s, Tupynambás had sporadically played at Campeonato Mineiro Módulo II with their football department closed most of the years. They returned to professional football in 2016 after receiving a percentage fee from sale of

Danilo Danilo is a given name found in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Serbian. Notable people with the name Danilo include: Athletes Footballers * Danilo (footballer, born 1979), Brazilian footballer Danilo de Andrade * Danilo (footballer, born ...

, who started his youth career at the club, from

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

and were promoted from the third division of Campeonato Mineiro in the same year. In 2018, Tupynambás finished in 2nd place at the second division of Campeonato Mineiro, earning promotion to the 2019 Campeonato Mineiro. In 2019, with both teams together in Minas Gerais first division since

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, Tupi had a disappointing campaign after failing to win a single match and being relegated after finishing in the last place; meanwhile Tupynambás won their first match by 5–1 against Villa Nova, defeated their city rivals in the second match by 1-0 and finished in the 8th place, being beaten by Atlético Mineiro in the quarter-finals.

Volleyball

In 2011, UFJF volleyball team won promotion to Superliga Brasileira de Voleibol for the first time. In its first season, UFJF finished 11th from 12 teams and is pending invitation to stay at the top division for 2012/13 season. Later on the team changed its name to JF Vôlei and it was ranked # 7 in the superliga 2016/2017, the team's best performance so far.

Demography

Ethnic groups found in Juiz de Fora include: Portuguese,

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

Africans The ethnic groups of Africa number in the thousands, with each ethnicity generally having their own language (or dialect of a language) and culture. The ethnolinguistic groups include various Afroasiatic, Khoisan, Niger-Congo, and Nilo-Sahara ...

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

, Lebanese,

Syrians Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine Arabic, Levantine and Mesopotamian Arabic, Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The culture of Syria, cultural ...

, others

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

, Japanese, Romani and more recently

Venezuelans Venezuelans ( Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connections exist and are the source ...

, Chinese and

Koreans Koreans are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula. The majority of Koreans live in the two Korean sovereign states of North and South Korea, which are collectively referred to as Korea. As of 2021, an estimated 7.3 m ...

. The population was 238,510 in 1970 with 7.6% living in rural areas. Vista_do_centro_de_Juiz_de_Fora-MG

As of the 2022 census, there were 540,756 people living in Juiz de Fora. The racial composition of the city in 2010 was: The population of Juiz de Fora since the first census, in 1872 (also including estimates):

Notable people

* Geraldo Majella Agnelo (cardinal and

papabile ( , , ; plural: ; ) is an unofficial Italian term coined by Vaticanologists and used internationally in many languages to describe a Catholic man—in practice, always a cardinal—who is thought of as a likely or possible candidate to be ...

) in the

2013 papal conclave A papal conclave was held on 12 and 13 March 2013 to elect a new pope to succeed Benedict XVI, who had resigned on 28 February 2013. Of the 117 eligible Cardinal electors in the 2013 papal conclave, cardinal electors, all but two attended. On th ...

* Felipe Roque (volleyball player) * Scheila Carvalho (model, dancer) * Fernando Cedrola (footballer) * Daniel (former professional footballer, murdered in 2018) * Bernardo Faria (Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion) * Cafuringa (former professional footballer) *

Itamar Franco Itamar Augusto Cautiero Franco (; 28 June 19302 July 2011) was a Brazilian politician who served as the 33rd president of Brazil from 29 December 1992 to 1 January 1995. Previously, he was the 21st vice president of Brazil from 1990 until the ...

(former Brazilian President and former mayor of the city) * Márcia Fu (former Brazilian female volleyball player) *

Larissa Oliveira Larissa Martins de Oliveira (born 16 February 1993) is a Brazilian former freestyle swimmer. International career 2012–16 At the 2012 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) in Istanbul, she finished 6th in the 4×100-metre freestyle final ...

(former Brazilian female swimmer) *

Giovane Gávio Giovane Farinazzo Gavio (born 7 September 1970), known as Giovane, is a Brazilian retired volleyball coach and former player who was a member of the Brazil men's national volleyball team that won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in B ...

(former Brazilian volleyball player) * Natália Guimarães (Miss Brazil 2007, 1st runner up Miss Universe 2007) * Zé Carlos, Brazilian football player. * Júlia Horta ( Miss Brasil 2019) * Andrade, former footballer * Hudson (professional footballer, currently at

) *

Marcelo Marcelo is a given name, the Spanish and Portuguese form of Marcellus (name), Marcellus. Marcelo may refer to: Given name *Marcelo Costa de Andrade (born 1967), Brazilian serial killer, rapist, and necrophile *Marcelo Arriagada (born 1973), Chile ...

(former footballer and one of the victims of Chapecoense plane crash) *

Fab Melo Fabricio Paulino de Melo (; June 20, 1990 – February 11, 2017) was a Brazilian professional basketball player. He played one season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Boston Celtics before returning to his home country and pl ...

(former NBA basketball player) * Murilo Mendes (poet) * Guilherme Marques (beach volleyball player, world champion) * Heitor Canalli, the first football player from Minas Gerais to participate in a World Cup. * Lara Rodrigues (actress) * Thomás (professional footballer, currently at Greek club Apollon Smyrnis) * Wesley (professional footballer, currently at English club

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

)

References

External links

Juiz de Fora Guide

Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora

Juiz de Fora city government

Juiz de Fora Virtual Tour

Juiz de Fora and Region Tourist Guide
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Juiz De Fora 1850 establishments in Brazil Populated places established in 1850 Municipalities in Minas Gerais