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Leopoldina is a Brazilian municipality in the 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 ...
. It belongs to the
Zona da Mata The Zona da Mata (, "Forest Belt") is the narrow coastal plain between the Atlantic Ocean and the dry '' agreste'' and ''sertão'' regions in the northeastern Brazilian states of Maranhão, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alag ...
mesoregion and it located 322 kilometers southeast of
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 state capital. In 2022, its estimated population was 51 145 inhabitants, according to IBGE. Its territory covers an area of 943 km2. The municipal headquarters has an average annual temperature of 21°C and the vegetation is predominantly Atlantic forest. Regarding the automobile fleet, 16,575 vehicles were registered in 2012. The municipality's
Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...
(HDI) is 0.726, classified as high. The political emancipation of the municipality took place in 1854, and its name is a tribute to Princess Leopoldina de Bragança e Bourbon, daughter of Emperor D. Pedro II. Currently it is formed by the headquarters and the districts of Abaíba, Piacatuba, Providência, Ribeiro Junqueira and Tebas. The city, during the
coffee cycle In Economic history of Brazil, Brazil's economic history, the coffee cycle () was a period in which coffee was the main export product of the Economy of Brazil, Brazilian economy. It began in the mid-19th century and ended in 1930. The coffee cyc ...
, was one of the most important in the former
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of Minas Gerais. With the great economic crisis of 1929, the economy of the municipalities of Minas Gerais linked to coffee growing suffered a great impact. Nowadays, its economy is based on
dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...
, rice cultivation and the service sector. Leopoldina has cultural, natural and architectural attractions, such as the Cathedral of St. Sebastian, the Espaço dos Anjos Museum, the Electricity Museum, the
Maurício Hydroelectric Power Plant Maurício is the Portuguese variant of Mauricio (given name). Sportspeople with the name include: *Maurício Assoline, Braziian footballer *Maurício José da Silveira Júnior, Brazilian footballer *Maurício Copertino, Brazilian footballer *Maurí ...
reservoir, the Cruzeiro Hill, among others. One of the main events that happen in the city are the Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition, the ''Feira da Paz'' and the traditional Viola and Gastronomy Festival of Piacatuba.


Etymology

The
toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...
is a tribute to the second daughter of Emperor D. Pedro II, Princess Leopoldina de Bragança e Bourbon. The name was chosen when the town became politically emancipated from the municipality of
Mar de Espanha Mar de Espanha is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in the Southeast region of Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Minas Gerais This is a list of the municipalities in the States of Brazil, state of Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais ( ...
in 1854. Before that, the area was a district called São Sebastião do Feijão Cru, in reference to both the patron saint of the place and the stream that crosses the territory.


History


Origins

At the end of the 18th century, the
gold production Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to more complex ...
of the
Captaincy of Minas Gerais A captaincy ( , , ) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule administrations of medieval feudal governme ...
went into decline. Some families left the villages in search of fertile land in other parts of the captaincy. They reached the forbidden areas of colonization, then known as ''Sertões do Leste'', an extensive strip of Atlantic forest that extended from the Paraibuna River and the Royal Road to the
Doce River The Doce River ( , "Sweet River") is a river in southeast Brazil with a length of . The river basin is economically important. In 2015, the collapse of a dam released highly contaminated water from mining into the river, causing an ecological d ...
; later, this region became known as the Zona da Mata. In 1813, the first '' sesmarias'' in the territory of the current municipality, which belonged to the term of
Barbacena Barbacena is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. As of 2020, the municipality had 138,204 inhabitants. The total area of the municipality is . Barbacena is known for its strong Italian influence. The Rodrigo Silva Colonial Nucl ...
, ''
comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...
'' of Rio das Mortes, were donated. However, the oldest references of residents date back to 1824. The first explorers established themselves with their families on the banks of the Feijão Cru Stream, where a troopers' settlement began to develop near a small chapel made of
wattle and daub Wattle and daub is a composite material, composite building method in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called "wattle (construction), wattle" is "daubed" with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, and ...
, erected in 1831 by farmers Francisco Pinheiro de Lacerda and Joaquim Ferreira Brito and dedicated to
Saint Sebastian Sebastian (; ) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this d ...
. Until the arrival of the first landowners, the region was inhabited by the
Puri Puri, also known as Jagannath Puri, () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state ca ...
indigenous people. These groups were entrusted with certain services, such as clearing the forest and harvesting the ipecacuanha, for which they were paid with ''
cachaça ''Cachaça'' () is a Liquor, distilled spirit made from fermented sugarcane juice. Also known as ''pinga'', ''caninha'', and other names, it is the most popular spirit in Brazil.Cavalcante, Messias Soares. Todos os nomes da cachaça. São Pau ...
''. A considerable part of the Puri population was killed by the diseases brought by the invaders, such as
measles Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles v ...
, and the other part was expelled and had to leave for the province of
Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attracti ...
; by 1865, there were practically no indigenous people left in the area. In 1831, the
district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
of São Sebastião do Feijão Cru was created, as part of the municipality of São Manuel do Pomba, now
Rio Pomba Rio Pomba is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais founded on 25 December 1767. The population is 17,959 (2020 est.) in an area of 252 km2. The municipality is located at a mean elevation of 441 m. History In the 1700s, the ...
. In 1851, the district was transferred to the territory of Mar de Espanha, from which it was emancipated by provincial law No. 666 of April 27, 1854, creating the municipality of Vila Leopoldina. The same law transferred some districts dismembered from the territory of Presídio, now Visconde do Rio Branco, to Leopoldina. At that time, the municipality had a population of 23,000 inhabitants. The formation of the village began around the Rosário Square, from where the streets of Rosário (now Tiradentes Street), Direita (now Gabriel Magalhães Street) and Riachuelo (now Joaquim Ferreira Brito Street) left, constituting the oldest roads in the city.


The coffee cycle

Coffee growing developed in the province of Rio de Janeiro crossed the
Paraíba do Sul river Paraíba ( , ; ) is a state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and it is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Paraíba is the third most ...
and spread into the Zona da Mata through the valleys of the
Paraibuna Paraibuna is a municipality (''município'') in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte. The population is 18,263 (2020 est.) in an area of 809.58 km². The elevation is 635 m. T ...
, Pirapetinga and Pomba rivers, leading to a fast growth of the area in the second half of the 19th century. Vila Leopoldina was elevated to the category of city by provincial law No. 1116 of October 16, 1861. At that time, Latin and French were already taught in the locality. In 1872, by provincial law no. 1867, Leopoldina became the seat of a district. The municipality also benefited from the construction of the Leopoldina Railroad, whose tracks reached the city in 1877. Through the railroad, trade 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 ...
, capital of the
Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
, was carried out. In 1879, the first newspaper of the municipality was founded, called ''Leopoldinense''. In April 1881, Leopoldina was visited by Emperor Pedro II. In 1883, Leopoldina had the second largest slave population in the province of Minas Gerais, behind only
Juiz de Fora Juiz de Fora (; ), also known as J.F., is a city in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, approximately from the state border with Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro. According to the 2022 census the current population is 54 ...
. Between the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, European immigrants arrived in Leopoldina to work in the coffee plantations. An immigrant hostel operated in the town until 1898. In 1910, the Constança Colony was created in the district of Tebas for immigrants, mainly Italians. On September 2, 1906, in the district of Piacatuba, the cornerstone of Mauricio Hydroelectric Power Plant was laid, the first
hydroelectric power plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
built in the region, to exploit the hydraulic potential of the ''Cachoeira da Fumaça'', on the Novo River. Two years later, on July 16, 1908, the
electric power Electric power is the rate of transfer of electrical energy within a electric circuit, circuit. Its SI unit is the watt, the general unit of power (physics), power, defined as one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with oth ...
arrived in the city. Also in 1906, the Leopoldinense Gymnasium was founded, which from 1912 onwards offered technical education at the Agricultural School and
higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...
at the School of Pharmacy and Dentistry. Between 1911 and 1912, the Banco Ribeiro Junqueira and the Zonna da Matta construction company were founded in the town. The coffee crisis at the beginning of the 20th century, however, caused serious changes in the economy of the Zona da Mata and the municipality, which began to rely on dairy farming and rice cultivation. In the period between the First Republic and the military coup of 1964, some political leaders of Leopoldina achieved projection in Minas Gerais and Brazil, such as Senator Ribeiro Junqueira, Governor Clóvis Salgado and President
Carlos Luz Carlos Coimbra da Luz (; 4 August 1894 – 9 February 1961) was a Brazilian politician, lawyer, teacher and journalist who served as acting president of Brazil from November 8 to November 11, 1955. He is the shortest serving president of Brazil. ...
. The Rio-Bahia Highway, inaugurated in 1963, benefited the industrialization of the municipality and strengthened it as a communications junction.


Administrative division

Emancipated from Mar de Espanha in 1854, the municipality was installed on January 20, 1855 covering nine districts: Leopoldina (headquarters), Capivara, Conceição da Boa Vista, Laranjal, Madre de Deus do Angu, Nossa Senhora da Piedade, Bom Jesus do Rio Pardo, Santa Rita do Meia Pataca and São José do Paraíba. Since then, new districts have been created and others emancipated to constitute the municipalities of
Cataguases Cataguases is a municipality located in the southeastern part of the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The estimated population in 2020 was 75,540. It is mainly an industrial centre (textile, metallurgy, clothes) with a strong influence of coffe ...
,
Além Paraíba Além Paraíba is a city in the southeastern Zona da Mata region of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The name indicates its position on the far bank (from Rio de Janeiro) of the Rio Paraíba do Sul. It was known as ''São José d'Além Parahyba'' until 1 ...
and
Recreio Recreio is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in the Southeast region of Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Minas Gerais This is a list of the municipalities in the States of Brazil, state of Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais (MG), l ...
. The last dismemberment occurred by state law No. 2764 of 1962, which emancipated the district of Rio Pardo to create the municipality of Argirita. Currently, the municipality is formed by six districts: Leopoldina, Abaíba, Piacatuba, Providência, Ribeiro Junqueira and Tebas.


Geography

Leopoldina is located in the Zona da Mata mesoregion and occupies an area of 942 km2, which makes it the most extensive of its micro-region, representing 0.161% of the state of Minas Gerais, 0.102% of the Southeast Region and 0.011% of the entire Brazilian territory. It borders
Cataguases Cataguases is a municipality located in the southeastern part of the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The estimated population in 2020 was 75,540. It is mainly an industrial centre (textile, metallurgy, clothes) with a strong influence of coffe ...
to the north, Laranjal to the northeast, Recreio to the east, Pirapetinga and Estrela Dalva to the southeast,
Volta Grande Volta Grande is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais. As of 2020 its population was estimated to be 5,261. Geography Volta Grande is located in the Zona da Mata mesoregion of Minas Gerais near the border with the state of Rio de ...
and Além Paraíba to the south, Santo Antônio do Aventureiro to the southwest, Argirita and
São João Nepomuceno São João Nepomuceno is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the southeast of Minas Gerais, Brazil close to the state border with Rio de Janeiro. See also * List of municipalities in Minas Gerais References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sao ...
to the west, and Descoberto and Itamarati de Minas to the northwest.


Landform and hydrography

The territory of Leopoldina is located in the Paraíba do Sul River Basin, and the municipal headquarters is crossed by the Feijão Cru Stream. The main rivers that flow through the municipality are the Pomba and Pirapetinga, both tributaries of the Paraíba do Sul, and the Pardo and Novo rivers, tributaries of the Pomba. About 80% of the municipality has topography ranging from undulating to hilly and only 20% classified as plain. The
altitude Altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum (geodesy), datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context (e.g., aviation, geometr ...
of the municipal headquarters is 225 meters; Alto de Santa Úrsula, the highest point of the municipality, has an altitude of 712 meters.


Climate

The climate of Leopoldina is
tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
(type Aw according to
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
), with an average annual temperature of around 21 °C, dry and mild winters and rainy summers with moderately high temperatures. The warmest months are January, February and March, with an average maximum temperature of 29 °C; in February 2003, a peak temperature of 35 °C was recorded. July is the coldest month, with an average minimum temperature of 12 °C; in July 2003, a low of 9 °C was recorded. The average annual rainfall is 1,307 mm. The highest rainfall is recorded in the period from October to March, with the winter months characterized by drought. On average, July is the driest month, when only 14.2 mm are recorded, and December is the wettest month, with an average of 277.1 mm.


Vegetation and soil use

The native vegetation of the municipality is the seasonal semideciduous forest, a part of the Atlantic forest
biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...
, which has been severely deforested. Currently, the seasonal forest occupies an area of 7144 hectares in the territory. Today, most of Leopoldina's area is covered by fields and pastures, which occupy 79,308 hectares. It has two environmental conservation units: the Antônio Andrade Ribeiro Municipal Park, with an area of 31.93 hectares, and the Lapinha Biological Reserve, with 368 hectares.


Demography

In 2010, the population of Leopoldina was estimated by the
Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics 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 ...
(IBGE) at 51,136 inhabitants, with a population density of 54.27 inhabitants per km2. According to the 2010 census, 47.99% of the population were men (24 545 inhabitants), 52.01% women (26 591 inhabitants), 89.39% (45 712 inhabitants) lived in the urban area and 10.61% (5 424 inhabitants) in the rural area. Also according to the IBGE, Leopoldina had 37 685 voters in 2006. The Municipal
Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...
(HDI-M) of Leopoldina is considered average by the
United Nations Development Program The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries Poverty reduction, eliminate poverty and achieve Sustainable development, sustainable economic growth and Human development (economics), hu ...
(UNDP). Its value is 0.778, being the 122nd highest in the entire state of Minas Gerais (out of 853), the 487th of the entire Southeast Region of Brazil (out of 1666 municipalities) and the 1098th of all Brazil (out of 5 507 municipalities). Considering only education (MHDI-E), the index value is 0.854, while Brazil's is 0.849. The longevity index (MHDI-L) is 0.789 (the Brazilian is 0.638) and the income index is 0.691 (Brazil is 0.723). The per capita income is 8,994.55 reais, the adult
literacy rate Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...
is 89.56% and life expectancy is 72.35 years. According to IBGE, the
Gini coefficient In economics, the Gini coefficient ( ), also known as the Gini index or Gini ratio, is a measure of statistical dispersion intended to represent the income distribution, income inequality, the wealth distribution, wealth inequality, or the ...
, which measures social inequality, is 0.45, with 1.00 being the worst number and 0.00 the best. The incidence of poverty, measured by IBGE, is 30.46%, the lower limit of poverty incidence is 22.02%, the upper limit is 38.90% and the incidence of subjective poverty is 26.38%.


Politics

Local administration is carried out by the executive and legislative branches. The first representative of the executive power and mayor of the municipality was Francisco Andrade Bastos, whose mandate lasted from 1937 to 1945. In twenty mandates, thirteen mayors have passed through the City Hall of Leopoldina. The current mayor of the city is Pedro Augusto Junqueira Ferraz (PL), elected with 31.30% of the valid votes (8,926 votes). The legislative branch is made up of the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
, composed of 15 councillors elected for four-year terms. Leopoldina is also the seat of a ''comarca'', whose territory also includes the municipalities of Recreio and Argirita.


Neighborhoods

* Alto da Ventania * Alto da Boa Vista(Solar Leopoldina) * Alto do Cemitério * Arrasta Couro * Arthur Leão * Bandeirantes * Bela Vista * Boa Sorte * Caiçaras * Canto dos Ferreiras * Catedral * Centro * Chácara Dona Euzébia * Cidade Alta * Cohab Nova * Cohab Velha Maria Guimarães França * Condomínio Verônica Barbosa * Desengano * Dr. Joaquim Guimarães * Eldorado * Fábrica * Fátima (Coreia) * Fortaleza * Grotinha * Imperador * Jardim Bela Vista * Jardim Lisboa * João Paulo II * Meia Laranja * Mina de Ouro * Nova Leopoldina * Onça * Palmeiras * Pedro Brito * Pedra Pinguda * Pirineus * Popular * Praça da Bandeira * Quinta Residência * Redentor * Roque Schettino (antigo Limoeiro) * Rosário * São Cristóvão * São Luiz * São Sebastião * Seminário * Serra Verde * Tomé Nogueira * Três Cruzes * Vale do Sol * Vila Esteves * Vila Miralda * Zona Industrial


Economy and infrastructure

According to 2011 data from IBGE, Leopoldina had a
Gross Domestic Product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...
of R$ 602,572 thousand. Of this total, R$ 52 206 thousand are from taxes on products net of subsidies. The main economic activities in Leopoldina are
services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...
and
industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...
, which account for 65% and 17% of the municipality's GDP, respectively. In the industry, the manufacture of textiles, clothing, food and beverages, metal products, rubber and plastic products and non-metallic minerals stand out. Currently, nature tourism is growing in the municipality. Agriculture has a share of 8.5% in the GDP, with
dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...
and the raising of chickens and pigs standing out. Leopoldina also produces corn, rice, bananas, sugar cane, among others. The main press organizations in the city are the newspapers, ''Leopoldinense Online'', ''O Vigilante Online'', ''Hora H Magazine'', ''Rádio-Jornal AM'', ''Rádio 104 FM'', ''Rádio Luz FM'' (community). Leopoldina has 46 health facilities, of which 19 are public. In all, the municipality has 243 hospital beds.


Transportation

The municipality of Leopoldina is served by federal highways BR-116 (Rio-Bahia), BR-120 and
BR-267 The BR-267 is a Brazilian federal highway that crosses the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul. It originates in the municipality of Leopoldina, Minas Gerais, at the junction with Highway BR-116 and continues to ...
and also by state highway MG-454. The Leopoldina Railroad, now granted to
Ferrovia Centro-Atlântica Vale (), formerly ''Companhia Vale do Rio Doce'' (Doce River Valley Company), is a Brazilian multinational corporation engaged in metals and mining and one of the largest logistics operators in Brazil. Vale is the largest producer of iron ore an ...
(FCA), passes through the districts of Providência, Abaíba and Ribeiro Junqueira. Leopoldina Airport is located in the district of Piacatuba. In 2012, the municipality's fleet totaled 16,575 vehicles, of which 9,901 were cars, 663 trucks, 262 tractor-trailers, 1,060 pickup trucks, 3,493 motorcycles, 85 buses, 67 minibuses and 1,044 of other types.


Education

Leopoldina has thirty primary education institutions, of which twenty-four are public; nine secondary education institutions (six public) and four higher education institutions - UEMG (public),
CEFET The Federal Centers for Technological Education (, shortened CEFET) are Brazilian educational institutes which are directly linked to the Ministry of Education. They are focused on high school, technical high school and academic degrees linked to ...
(public), UNIPAC (private) and DOCTUM (private).


Higher education institutions

* Federal Center for Technological Education (CEFET); * Doctum Unified Colleges; * Presidente Antônio Carlos University (UNIPAC);


Technical education institutions

* Federal Center for Technological Education of Minas Gerais (CEFET-MG); * Federal Southeast Institute of Minas Gerais (IF Sudeste MG); * Campanha Nacional de Escolas da Comunidade Institution (CENEC);


Culture


Museums

The city center is occupied by the Espaço dos Anjos Museum, a 19th-century building where the poet
Augusto dos Anjos Augusto de Carvalho Rodrigues dos Anjos (April 20, 1884 – November 12, 1914) was a Brazilian poet and professor. His poems speak mostly of sickness and death, and are considered the forerunners of Modernism in Brazil. He is the patron of the ...
, patron of the ''Academia Leopoldinense de Letras e Artes'', lived. The district of Piacatuba is the location of the Electricity Museum, next to the Mauricio Power Plant. The city also has libraries, a music conservatory and cultural associations.


Religion

According to the territorial division of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, Leopoldina has been the seat of a
diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
since 1942, whose episcopal see is the Cathedral of St. Sebastian. There are seven parishes in the municipality, four of which are located in the headquarters (Saint Sebastian,
Our Lady of the Rosary Our Lady of the Rosary (), also known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, is a Titles of Mary, Marian title. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly known as Feast of Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary is celebrated on 7 October ...
,
Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...
and
Saint Benedict Benedict of Nursia (; ; 2 March 480 – 21 March 547), often known as Saint Benedict, was a Great Church, Christian monk. He is famed in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Churches, the Anglican Communion, and Old ...
), one in Piacatuba (Our Lady of Mercy), one in Tebas ( Saint Anthony) and one in Providência (Saint Anthony). The municipality also has temples of other religions, such as evangelical churches. According to information from the 2010 census, conducted by IBGE, most of the population of Leopoldina declares itself Catholic (71.46%), followed by
evangelicals Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...
(16.62%), spiritists (3.71%), no religion (6.01%) and the rest belonging to other religions. Among the evangelicals, the largest share declared themselves linked to the
Assembly of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...
(4.12%), followed by the Church of the Foursquare Gospel (1.30%) and the
Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
(1.14%).


Municipal holidays

* January 20: Saint Sebastian's Day; * April 27: Municipality Day;


Popular festivals

* ''Feira da Paz'': An annual festival with handicraft trade, concerts and cultural events that takes place in September. Several stalls from different countries are set up in the central circle of the Exhibition Park, where typical food and drinks are served; * Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition: Traditional city event held in July; * Viola and Gastronomy Festival of Piacatuba: The renowned Viola and Gastronomy Festival takes place in the district of Piacatuba in mid-July/August, with a wide range of visitors and a memorable audience;


See also

*
List of municipalities in Minas Gerais This is a list of the municipalities in the States of Brazil, state of Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais (MG), located in the Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region of Brazil. Minas Gerais is divided into 853 Municipalities of Brazil, municipalities, ...
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Brazilian coffee cycle In Economic history of Brazil, Brazil's economic history, the coffee cycle () was a period in which coffee was the main export product of the Economy of Brazil, Brazilian economy. It began in the mid-19th century and ended in 1930. The coffee cyc ...
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Brazilian gold rush The Brazilian gold rush was a gold rush that started in the 1690s, in the then Portuguese colony of Brazil in the Portuguese Empire. The gold rush opened up the major gold-producing area of Ouro Preto ( Portuguese for ''black gold''), then know ...


References

{{Authority control Municipalities in Minas Gerais Geography of Minas Gerais Gold mining in Brazil History of Minas Gerais