Nova Odessa (literally "New

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

") is a Brazilian municipality in the state of

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 ...

. It is part of the

Metropolitan Region of Campinas The Metropolitan Region of Campinas () is an administrative division of the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It was created in 2000, and consists of the following municipalities: * Americana *Artur Nogueira *Campinas * Cosmópolis * Engenheiro Coe ...

. The population is 60,956 (2020 est.) in an area of 73.79 km². Nova Odessa was founded on May 24, 1905, by Carlos José de Arruda Botelho, Secretary of Agriculture of the state of São Paulo, and then settled by

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

and

Latvians Latvians () are a Baltic ethnic group and nation native to Latvia and the immediate geographical region, the Baltics. They are occasionally also referred to as Letts, especially in older bibliography. Latvians share a common Latvian language ...

; Its name is due to a visit Carlos Botelho made to the city of

Odesa, Ukraine Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...

, from where he brought the style of its streets, and not because the first settlers were mostly from Ukraine and

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History

In the early 20th century, the area of present-day Nova Odessa was classified as an uninhabited land suitable for farming. On May 24, 1905, the Brazilian government founded Nova Odessa as a "Núcleo Colonial" (the "Colonial Nuclei" were agricultural areas to where the Brazilian government wished to attract

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

s in large-scale). Ukrainians settled arrived in the region in 1905. However, difficulties related to farming, and soon abandoned the colony and moved to larger Brazilian cities. In late 1905, only a few Ukrainian families had remained in the nucleus. Determined to consolidate the colony, the Brazilian government sent João Gutmann to

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, capital of

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, with the goal of attracting new farmers to the colony. In 1906, Nova Odessa received the first settlers from Latvia. Later, other Brazilian immigration agents were sent to Latvia and succeeded in attracting more families.

Demographics

Culture

The city maintains or supports directly in several ways a wide range of departments, programs, groups and cultural institutions. Those include the Municipal Public Library (''Biblioteca Pública Municipal Professor Antônio Fernandes Gonçalves'') —that has a section of books in the

Latvian language Latvian (, ), also known as Lettish, is an East Baltic languages, East Baltic language belonging to the Indo-European language family. It is spoken in the Baltic region, and is the language of the Latvians. It is the official language of Latvia ...

.novaodessa.sp.gov.br
Biblioteca de Nova Odessa recebe doação de mais de 150 títulos letos.
(in Portuguese) Although the city later received many people from other ethnicities, the Latvian Culture is still very noticeable and there are plans for the creation of a Center of Latvian Culture (Centro de Cultura Leta) there.

Economy

The economy is based on industry, mainly

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

s. The city's

GDP 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 performance o ...

went from R$373 million in 1999 to R$1.6 billion in 2009. With its per capita value reaching R$32,862 (2009 data) —double the national average.

Media

In telecommunications, the city was served by Telecomunicações de São Paulo. In July 1998, this company was acquired by Telefónica, which adopted the Vivo brand in 2012. The company is currently an operator of cell phones, fixed lines, internet (fiber optics/4G) and television (satellite and cable).

Climate

The city has a highland tropical climate, semi-humid with dry winters.

Religion

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

is present in the city as follows:

Catholic Church

The Catholic Church in the municipality is part of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Limeira The Roman Catholic Diocese of Limeira () is a diocese located in the city of Limeira in the ecclesiastical province of Campinas Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in São Paulo (state), S ...

Protestant Church

The most diverse evangelical beliefs are present in the city, mainly

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

, including the Assemblies of God in Brazil (the largest evangelical church in the country),

Christian Congregation in Brazil The Christian Congregation in Brazil () was founded in Brazil by the Italian-American missionary Luigi Francescon (1866–1964), as part of the larger Christian Congregation (Pentecostal), Christian Congregation movement. History Louis Frances ...

, among others. These denominations are growing more and more throughout Brazil.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nova Odessa, Sao Paulo Populated places established in 1905 1905 establishments in Brazil Municipalities in São Paulo (state)