Petrópolis (), also known as the Imperial City, is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in the
Southeast Region of
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 ...
. It is located in the state of
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 ...
, northeast of the city of
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 Brazilian census, Petrópolis municipality had a population of 278,881 inhabitants. Besides being the largest and most populous city in the , the city also has the largest GDP and
HDI in the region.
The town's name ("City of Peter") honors
Pedro II, the last
Emperor of Brazil
The monarchs of Brazil (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''monarcas do Brasil'') were the imperial head of state, heads of state and hereditary rulers of Brazil from the House of Braganza that reigned from the creation of the Brazilian monarchy ...
, who is entombed there at the
Cathedral of Saint Peter of Alcantara.
The city was the summer residence of the
Brazilian Emperors and aristocrats in the 19th century, and was the official capital of the
state of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil. It has the second largest economy of Brazil, with the largest being that of the state of São Paulo. The state, which has 8.2% of the Brazilian population, is responsible for 9.2% of ...
during the
First Brazilian Republic, between 1894 and 1902.
There are projects to annex Petrópolis again to the
Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro, because it is linked to the capital by political and economic ties and contains one of the state's highest HDIs.
History
Colonial period
Until the 18th century, the region was inhabited by the ''índios coroados'' (crowned Indians), which earned it the Portuguese name of "''Sertão dos Índios Coroados''". It was only with the discovery of gold in
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 ...
and the consequent opening of the new way of the mines that passed through Petrópolis in that century that the region began to be occupied by non-Indians. The town's origins can be traced to Bernardo Soares de Proença, who between 1722 and 1725 opened an alternative route between Rio de Janeiro and
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 ...
, across the Serra da Estrela called "''Caminho Novo das Minas''" (New Road to Mines).
Imperial period
While traveling to Minas Gerais along this route in 1822,
Emperor Pedro I stayed at a farm owned by a Catholic priest, named Correia, and found the region's climate pleasant. As the priest's sister and heiress refused to sell his property, the Emperor bought the neighboring one, called the Córrego Seco Farm, in 1830. He had his summer palace built there, but never saw it finished, because he stepped down from the throne on April 7, 1831. Other Brazilian aristocrats eventually followed suit.
His son,
Emperor Pedro II, on March 16, 1843, signed an imperial decree ordering the construction of a settlement (to be formed with the arrival of
German immigrants) and the construction of the dreamy summer palace on his outlying lands, the cornerstone of which was settled by the Emperor in May 1845, and that was ready in 1847.
Conceived by Major Julius Friedrich Koeler, it is considered to be the second planned city in Brazil (after
Recife
Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...
, designed during the Dutch period), being composed of an urban nucleus – the city (now the center), where the Imperial Palace, Public buildings, commerce and services.
From then on, the city became the ''de facto'' capital of the
Empire of Brazil
The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and Uruguay until the latter achieved independence in 1828. The empire's government was a Representative democracy, representative Par ...
during the summer, with the whole court moving. Large numbers of well-to-do inhabitants of the city of
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 ...
also spent the summer in Petrópolis to escape the outbreaks of
yellow fever. Emperor Pedro II ruled for 49 years, and remained in Petrópolis for at least forty summers, for up to five months. On 29 September 1857, the town was elevated to the status of a city. In 1861, the first
Macadam
Macadam is a type of road construction pioneered by Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam , in which crushed stone is placed in shallow, convex layers and compacted thoroughly. A binding layer of stone dust (crushed stone from the original mat ...
ized Highway in Brazil, Estrada União e Indústria, was inaugurated, connecting Petrópolis to the city of
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 ...
in Minas Gerais. In 1883, a railroad arrived at the city on the initiative of the
Baron of Mauá. Also in 1877, the first telephone line in Brazil (and the first outside of the United States) was built, connecting Pedro's summer palace to his farm headquarters.
Regardless of the time of year, foreign diplomatic representatives lived in Petrópolis for most of the imperial period.
Republican period
Even after the establishment of the Republic and the exile of the Imperial family in 1889, the city continued to play a significant role in Brazilian history. It was a frequent choice as a summer residence for Presidents of the republic, who lodged at the
Palácio Rio Negro (Black River Palace). The most frequent of them was
Getúlio Vargas, whose stays, during
Estado Novo, lasted up to three months.
Between 1894 and 1902, the city was capital of the
State of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil. It has the second largest economy of Brazil, with the largest being that of the state of São Paulo. The state, which has 8.2% of the Brazilian population, is responsible for 9.2% of ...
, replacing
Niterói
Niterói () is a List of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro, in the Southeast Region, Brazil, southeast region of Brazil. It lies across Guanabara Bay, facing the city of Rio de ...
, due to the two
Navy Revolts. Also in this period, was chosen Hermogênio Silva, the only Deputy Governor of Rio de Janeiro whose political base was in Petrópolis. In 1897, the first cinema session took place in the city, with a cinematographer showing the Lumière brothers' first films. In 1903, the
Treaty of Petrópolis, which gave Brazil the
Acre
The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
territory, was signed between
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 ...
and
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
, at the residence of the
Baron of Rio Branco. The sanitarian
Oswaldo Cruz
Oswaldo Gonçalves Cruz (; August 5, 1872 – February 11, 1917), was a Brazilian physician, pioneer bacteriologist, epidemiology, epidemiologist and public health officer and the founder of the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Oswaldo Cruz Institute.
...
was named its first mayor in 1916. On the premises of the
Quitandinha Palace, the declaration of war of the American countries to the
Axis Powers
The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...
was signed during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
(1939–1945).
During the
Brazilian military government in the 1970s, there was a center for torture, called ''the house of death''.
In 1973 the remains of
Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil (1846–1921), and her husband, the
Count of Eu
This is a list of the counts of Eu, Seine-Maritime, Eu, a French county in the Middle Ages (Eu, Seine-Maritime, Eu is in the department of Seine-Maritime, in the extreme north of Normandy), disputed between Kingdom of France, France and Kingdom ...
, were brought to be buried in the Imperial Mausoleum. The Princess received a funeral of the Head of State with the presence of the most important leaders of the Republic and the
Brazilian Imperial Family and it was declared a public holiday.
On 15 February 2022,
over 150 people were killed by floods in Petrópolis following intense rainfall that caused mudslides.
Geography
Nestled among the forested hills of the
Serra dos Órgãos
The Serra dos Órgãos ("Organ Range") is a mountain range in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It contains the Serra dos Órgãos National Park.
Location
The Serra dos Órgãos is the name of the region of the Serra do Mar in the central ...
, in the valley of the Quitandinha and
Piabanha rivers, Petrópolis is a popular winter holiday spot. Besides the climate and surroundings, the main attraction is the former Summer Palace of the last Brazilian Emperor, which is now the
Imperial Museum, specializing in Imperial history and memorabilia.
Petrópolis is home to the National Laboratory for Scientific Computing, a research unit of the
Ministry of Science and Technology of the Brazilian Federal Government. The municipality holds part of the
Central Rio de Janeiro Atlantic Forest Mosaic
The Central Rio de Janeiro Atlantic Forest Mosaic () is a Protected area mosaic (Brazil), protected area mosaic in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The mosaic is inland, to the east of the city of Rio de Janeiro.
Histor ...
of conservation units, created in 2006.
The
Petrópolis Municipal Nature Park is in the historical center of the city of Petrópolis. It is part of the
Petrópolis Environmental Protection Area and the
Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve. The municipality also contains the
Pedra do Elefante Natural Monument.
Climate
Petrópolis has a
tropical highland climate (
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 ...
: ''Cwa'') caused by elevation with humid summers. The rainfall is approximately per annum.
The municipality contains part of the
Tinguá Biological Reserve, a strictly protected
Atlantic Forest conservation unit created in 1989.
The temperatures are mild. The annual average is around . In warmer months, the average temperature is and the average of the coldest month is . According to the National Institute of Meteorology (), the lowest temperature recorded was on August 2, 1955, and the highest temperature recorded was , on November 6, 2009.
Demography
Petrópolis experienced a strong population growth in the late nineteenth century, which remained less significant throughout the twentieth century. Its population began to stagnate and then contract (even if in a mild way) around the beginning of 2000. According to 2010 data, 52.3% (approximately 155 thousand people) of the population belong to the female sex and 48.7% (about 145 thousand people) to the male sex.
Religion
According to the 2012 census of IBGE, Petrópolis is composed by:
*
Roman Catholic Apostolic – 56.98%
*
Protestants
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
– 26.72%
*
Kardecist Spiritists – 4.25%
*
No Religion (Including
Atheists
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
, and
Agnostics) – 9.32%
* Others – 2.73%
Ethnic composition
According to the 2010 demographic census, Petrópolis was home to 186,642
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
people (63.5%), 75,025
Mixed people (25.4%), 31,463
Black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
people (10.6%), 970
Asian people (0.4%) and 281
Amerindian
In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...
people (0.1%).
The main peoples to participate in the ethnic/cultural formation of Petrópolis were the Germans and the
Portuguese (mainly from the region of the
Azores
The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...
). Other ethnic groups like
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
,
French,
English, and
Lebanese also had expressive participation in the formation of the city.
City districts
Petrópolis is divided into five districts, which are subdivided into smaller neighborhoods. These districts are subdivided into neighborhoods and/or urban and rural locations.
Petrópolis
* Downtown
* North zone: ''Quissamã, Retiro, Jardim Salvador, Itamarati (parte), Atílio Marotti, Quarteirão Brasileiro'', among others.
* South zone: ''Valparaíso, Quitandinha, Duques, Taquara, Parque São Vicente, Coronel Veiga, Castelânea, Siméria, Duas Pontes, Ponte Fones, Quarteirão Suíço, Quarteirão Italiano, Independência, São Sebastião, Saldanha Marinho, Alto Independência, Mauá'', among others.
* West zone: ''Bingen, Mosela, Duarte da Silveira, Capela, Castrioto, Pedras Brancas, Vila Militar, Rócio, Bataillard, Moinho Preto, Fazenda Inglesa, Quarteirão Ingelhein, Quarteirão Nassau'', among others.
* East Zone: ''Morin, Alto da Serra, 24 de Maio, Vila Felipe, Vila Real, Campinho, Chácara Flora, Sargento Boening, Oswero Vilaça, Meio da Serra'', among others.
Districts
* ''Cascatinha – Araras, Vale das Videiras, Bonsucesso, Carangola, Vila Manzini, Castelo São Manoel, Corrêas, Bairro da Glória, Itamarati, Estrada da Saudade, Nogueira, Samambaia, Jardim Salvador, Roseiral, Alcobacinha and Humberto Rovigatti.''
* ''Itaipava – Madame Machado, Mangalarga, Vila Rica, Jardim Americano, Vale do Cuiabá, Benfica, Laginha, Gentio, Catubira, Ribeirão, Castelo, Reta, Sumidouro, Santa Mônica, Arranha-Céu, Parque Santa Maria, Parque dos Eucaliptos, Estrada das Arcas and centro de Itaipava''
* ''Pedro do Rio – Secretário, Fagundes, Taquaril, Barra Mansa'', among others.
* ''Posse – Brejal, Rio Bonito, Tremedeira, Granjas Raposo, Nossa Senhora de Fátima, Jacuba'' among others.
Economy
Petrópolis' economy is based on tourism, services and industry. It is the 2nd largest
beer
Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...
production center in the country and the headquarters of major Brazilian
brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...
companies such as
Grupo Petrópolis (which owns the beer brands Itaipava, Crystal, Lokal, Black Princess, and Petra) Bohemia, and also a
Brasil Kirin Factory.
Other companies also have their headquarters in the city, such as the Mundo Verde network (Brazilian retailer of natural products) and the chocolate maker Katz. Currently, the project is being developed for the Industrial District of Posse, which aims to encourage industries in the 5th district of the city. Petrópolis has the 9th largest GDP of the state of Rio de Janeiro, in front of cities such as
Nova Friburgo
Nova Friburgo (; ; ), commonly referred to as just Friburgo, is a List of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro in southeastern Brazil. It is located in the mountainous region, in th ...
and
Teresópolis
Teresópolis () is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality located in the States of Brazil, state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro, in a mountainous region known as ''Região Serrana''. The Serra dos Órgãos National Park li ...
, and, in national scope, more than six state capitals, such as
Aracaju
Aracaju () is the capital of the state of Sergipe, Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country on the coast, about 350 km (217 mi) north of Salvador, Bahia, Salvador. According to the 2020 estimate, the city has 664,908 inha ...
,
Palmas, and
Macapá
Macapá () is a city in Brazil with a population of 512,902 (2020 estimate), and is the capital of Amapá state in the country's North Region, Brazil, North Region, located on the northern channel of the Amazon Delta near its mouth on the Atlant ...
.
The city's economy is still larger than entire states of the federation, such as
Roraima
Roraima ( ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas t ...
and
Acre
The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
.
Tourism
The high season of tourism in Petrópolis begins in July, with the beginning of
Bauernfest, and the beginning of winter, which attracts tourists to the city with the cold weather. In 2014, some attractions increased by more than 30%, compared to the same period in 2013, due to the
FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014.

It is the city of the mountain region of Rio de Janeiro that receives more tourists per year. Petrópolis was the non-capital that progressed most in the Competitiveness Index of National Tourism in 2014, prepared by the Ministry of Tourism. According to the developers, the city is among the 15 best placed in Brazil in the overall ranking of competitiveness in tourism.
The main attractions of the city are:
* Açu Hill (
Serra dos Órgãos National Park
Serra (Latin for "saw") may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Serra (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Serra (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Serra (footballer), Portuguese footballer Jos� ...
)
*
Casa Stefan Zweig
The Casa Stefan Zweig is legally regarded as a private charitable organisation, which was founded in 2006 by a group of interested private donors, to establish a writer's house museum, that is dedicated to the author, in the last residence of St ...
* Castle of the Baron of Itaipava, (currently under reformation)
* Crystal Palace
* District of Itaipava, containing many popular attractions such as the "orto" market, vilareijo, and the municipal park located in the heart of the district.
* Fatima's Throne
*
Grão-Pará Palace
* House of Ipiranga ("House of the Seven Mistakes")
* House of Joaquim Nabuco
* House of
Princess Isabel
* House of
Rui Barbosa
* House (chalet) of
Santos-Dumont
* House of the Baron and Viscount of Arinos
* House of the
Baron and Viscount of Mauá
* House of the Viscount of Caeté
*
Imperial Museum of Brazil
* Monastery of the Virgin
* Petrópolis City Park
* Petrópolis Wax Museum
*
Quitandinha Palace
*
Rio Negro Palace
* Rural touristic tours of Taquaril, Brejal and Araras
*
Saint Peter of Alcantara Cathedral (Cathedral of Petrópolis) with the Imperial Mausoleum
* Valparaíso (Gastronomic and Entertainment Center of Petrópolis)
*
Bauernfest (Annual Festival in honor to the German immigrants)
Education
Petrópolis is home to the
National Laboratory of Scientific Computation (LNCC), a Brazilian institution for scientific research and technological development linked to the
Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTIC), specialized in
scientific computing
Computational science, also known as scientific computing, technical computing or scientific computation (SC), is a division of science, and more specifically the Computer Sciences, which uses advanced computing capabilities to understand and s ...
. The institution is home to the largest
supercomputer
A supercomputer is a type of computer with a high level of performance as compared to a general-purpose computer. The performance of a supercomputer is commonly measured in floating-point operations per second (FLOPS) instead of million instruc ...
in
Latin America
Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
, called
Santos Dumont. The equipment serves the Brazilian scientific community in numerous research, improvement and development demands.
The largest university in the city is the
Catholic University of Petrópolis (UCP-RJ). Founded in
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...
, it offers almost 30 undergraduate courses, as well as postgraduate programs. Moreover, there are two public universities, the
University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), and the
Fluminense Federal University (UFF), offering Architecture and Engineering courses. In the city, there is also a unit of the Federal Center of Technological Education Celso Suckow of Fonseca (CEFET-RJ), with courses such as Degree in Physics, Bachelor in Tourism, and Computer Engineering.
In addition to these, the city has the
Petrópolis Medical School, Arthur Sá Earp Neto College,
Estácio de Sá University and the FAETERJ – Faculty of Technological Education of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Faculdade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro), which offers courses in Information Technology and Communication, and private higher education institutions that offer several undergraduate courses and also postgraduate courses (lato sensu and stricto sensu).
The municipality houses one of the teaching centers of the Distance Learning Center of the State of Rio de Janeiro, a consortium formed by public institutions of higher education in the state of Rio de Janeiro. This consortium offers free undergraduate courses in Pedagogy, Mathematics, Biology and Public Safety.
In the field of basic education, the municipal education network reached the goal of the IDEB for 2011 and had its mark above the averages of the state and the country.
Transport
According to the IBGE census, in the year 2014 the total fleet of Petrópolis had 142,576 vehicles, approximately 1 vehicle per 2.1 inhabitants.
Of these were: 96,384 automobiles; 21,133 motorcycles; 8,048 pickup trucks; 6,753 vans; 3,092 heavy trucks; 2,769 scooters; 1,289 utilities; 926 buses; 680 micro-buses; 290 tractor-trucks; And 1,232 other types of vehicles. The public transport in the city is made by several companies, being the greater one, Petrolta.
The main public transport in Petrópolis is the bus along with taxis.
Culture
The culture of Petrópolis is directly linked to the imperial period of Brazil. Being nicknamed as Imperial City, the city has a large collection of theaters, museums, and palaces that refer to the period. In addition, much of the culture of the city was influenced by the immigration that participated in the formation of the identity of Petrópolis, where the German, Portuguese, Syrian, Lebanese, and Italian groups stand out. Even today the city has the second largest festival of German culture in Brazil, the Bauernfest, only losing to the
Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest (; ) is the world's largest , featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October. The annual event attracts more than seven milli ...
in the south of the country. In addition, festivals are held every year that bring back the culture of other peoples, such as the Serra Serata, in honor of Italian immigration, and Bunka-Sai, a celebration of Japanese culture. The Cultural Foundation promotes every year (since 2009) the Maestro Guerra-Peixe de Cultura Prize, which honors the most outstanding artists and cultural agents during the year; The patron César Guerra-Peixe was an illustrious composer Petropolitan.
Architecture
The city has unique architecture, such as the
Palácio Quitandinha, the Petropolitan Academy of Letters, the House Museum of Santos Dumont, the
Imperial Museum of Brazil, the Dom Pedro Theater, the ''Casa do Colono Museum,'' and the
Cathedral of Saint Peter of Alcantara. The palace is the main building of the so-called "historic center", where Koeler Avenue stands out, surrounded by mansions and palaces of the 19th century. The road is perpendicular to the facade of the Cathedral of Saint Peter of Alcantara and, in the other direction, the Ruy Barbosa Square and the façade of the Catholic University.
In the so-called "historic center", there are also buildings such as "''Encantada''" (summer house of Santos Dumont); the Crystal Palace; the Yellow Palace (City Council); the
Rio Negro Palace, bordering the city hall (Sérgio Fadel Palace); and curious buildings such as the "castelinho" of the self-proclaimed "Duke of Belfort", on the corner of Koeler and Ruy Barbosa Square, or the old house of the Rocha Miranda family, on Avenida Ipiranga – same address of another residence of the same family, in a sixties style. Modern lines are also present in the house of
Lúcio Costa, in the neighborhood of Samambaia.
Theatres
Petrópolis has 2 theaters. The ''Teatro Dom Pedro'', created in Art Deco style and inaugurated in 1933 by D'Angelo & Cia, is one of the largest in the state. The place was created with different styles, with mythological and futuristic references, making the theater considered an eclectic style, becoming a cultural and artistic reference for Petrópolis. The city also owns the Teatro Santa Cecília, built in 1955, located in Rua Aureliano Coutinho in the center of the city.
Museums

Petrópolis has great traditions as an imperial city. For this reason, today it owns one of the most important museums of the history of Brazil, the Imperial Museum. Built between 1845 and 1862 as the summer Palace of the Imperial Family, it has a collection of pieces linked to the
Brazilian monarchy, including furniture, documents, works of art, and personal objects belonging to the Imperial Family. The Palace was turned into a museum in 1943 by decree of the then president
Getúlio Vargas. In addition, the city has the Petrópolis Wax Museum, ''Casa Santos Dumont Museum'', ''Casa do Colono Museum'', ''Princess Isabel House,'' and Rio Negro Palace, all located in the city center.
With more than 321,000 visitors, the Imperial Museum in Petrópolis was the most visited museum in Brazil in 2016, according to data from the Brazilian Institute of Museums (Ibram) of the Ministry of Culture.
Festivals
The Petrópolis culture is directly linked to German immigration. Since 1989,
Bauernfest, a typical feast in honor of German immigrants, is held every year. The festival in 2012 lasted 11 days, had the participation of 368,000 visitors, and raised R$55 million. The festival welcomes foreign tourists from all over Brazil, especially from the city of Rio de Janeiro. It is the most influential party of the city and includes competitions of chope the meter, presentations, typical cuisine, exhibition of chocolates, among other attractions.
The city also holds the Serra Serata, an annual festival that celebrates immigration and Italian culture.
Petrópolis also hosts the Winter Festival, promoted by SESC, with several attractions for this period of the year, which usually happens in the Quitandinha Palace. The festival is already traditional in the cities of Petrópolis, Nova Friburgo, and Teresópolis. In 2014, the 13th edition was held, counting on concerts, theatrical presentations, and cultural events.
The city also hosts Bunka-Sai, the annual festival of Japanese culture, which had its first edition in 2009. It has cultural presentations, in addition to the Japanese gastronomic festival.
Carnival
In 2013, the carnival of the city was canceled, for the application of funds in the approximate amount of R$1 million, previously used in the parades, in the area of health, thus making Petrópolis a refuge of Cariocas of the Carnival. The decision was made during a meeting between the mayor and the Foundation for Culture and Tourism.
Sport
Serrano Football Club was founded on 29 June 1915 and was
Garrincha
Manuel Francisco dos Santos (28 October 1933 – 20 January 1983), nicknamed Mané Garrincha, best known as simply Garrincha (, "little bird"), was a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, righ ...
's first professional team.
Media

The main television station transmitting news related to the city is ''InterTV Serra + Mar'', as well as other local broadcasters such as
SBT Rio and
Band Rio, which present news from the mountain region of Rio de Janeiro, mainly related to Petrópolis and Nova Friburgo. The city also has local television networks with a certain influence: Rede Petrópolis de Televisão, TV Vila Imperial, and TV Cidade de Petrópolis, with headquarters located in the center.
The city's main written newspaper is the ''Tribuna de Petrópolis'', one of the oldest in the country, created in 1909, published from Tuesday to Sunday, whose headquarters are in the center. Also worthy of note is the newspaper ''Diário de Petrópolis'', published daily, of great influence in the city.
The main and most listened to radio stations with headquarters in Petrópolis are ''Radio Tribuna'' FM (88.5 MHz), ''Radio UCP'' (106.3 MHz), ''Radio Supernova FM'' (98.7 MHz), and ''Radio Imperial'' (1550 AM). In addition, radio stations based in the city of Rio de Janeiro, such as the ''MIX FM Rio Radio'', which already owned an exclusive domain of Radio MIX in Petrópolis and was later purchased by Rádio UCP, are also very much listened to.
In recent years, the internet has proved to be one of the main sources of news. In Petrópolis, some include the G1 of the Serrana Region, the online portal of the Tribuna de Petrópolis, and the Diário de Petrópolis, besides the site Acontece in Petrópolis and the portal with live broadcast of TVC 16 (TV Cidade de Petrópolis). Also worth mentioning is the online portal of the RPT (Rede Petrópolis de Televisão).
Sister cities
Petrópolis is
twinned with:
*
Blumenau
Blumenau () is a city in Vale do Itajaí, Santa Catarina (Brazil), Santa Catarina state, in the South Region, Brazil, South Region of Brazil, from the state capital Florianópolis.
The city was founded by the German chemist and pharmacist H ...
, Brazil
Notable people
*
Dom Pedro de Alcântara,
Prince of Grão-Pará
*
Prince Luís of Orléans-Braganza
*
Rafael da Silva,
Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a French professional association football, football club based in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. With origins dating back to 1899, they were founded in 1950 and p ...
footballer
*
Carlos Gracie, Brazilian martial artist
*
Hélio Gracie, Brazilian martial artist
*
Michel de Souza, operatic baritone, born in Petrópolis
*
Guilherme Fontes, Brazilian actor
*
Edwin V. Morgan,
United States Ambassador to Brazil
The following is a list of ambassadors of the United States, or other chiefs of mission, to Brazil. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently ''Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary''.
...
1912–1933
*
Fiorella Mattheis, Brazilian actress
*
Peter Brian Medawar, winner of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...
, among other awards
*
Henrique Avancini, Brazilian mountain bike racer
*
Rodrigo Santoro
Rodrigo Junqueira Reis Santoro (; born 22 August 1975) is a Brazilian actor. He is known in Brazil for his appearance on local telenovelas and internationally for his portrayal of Persian King Xerxes I of Persia, Xerxes in the film ''300 (film), ...
, actor who has appeared in many successful movies, including ''
300
__NOTOC__
Year 300 ( CCC) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1053 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 300 ...
'', ''
What to Expect When You're Expecting'', among others
*
Magda Tagliaferro, Brazilian pianist
*
Gabriel Pec, Brazilian footballer
*
Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig ( ; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian writer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular writers in the world.
Zweig was raised in V ...
, Austrian author, lived in Petrópolis from 1940 until his suicide in the same city on February 23, 1942
*
Elizabeth Bishop, American poet and short-story writer, lived partly in Petrópolis for 17 years (1944–1961) with
Lota de Macedo Soares
Maria Carlota "Lota" Costallat de Macedo Soares (16 March 1910 – 25 September 1967) was a Brazilian landscape designer and architect. Despite not having a degree in either area, she was invited by governor Carlos Lacerda to design and oversee ...
, architect and landscape designer
*
Cristiane Brasil, Brazilian politician, was born in Petrópolis
*
Jorge Henrique Papf, a German-Brazilian photographer and painter
*
Andreas Mattheis, Brazilian racing driver
* All but one of the members of the comedy troupe
Hermes & Renato were born in Petrópolis
Petrópolis is also the home of
Meninas Cantoras de Petrópolis, an all-girl singing group.
Gallery
File:João Baptista da Costa - Paisagem de Petrópolis.jpg, ''Landscape of Petrópolis (Woodland with a Creek)'', unknown date
File:João Batista da Costa - A casa do Barão do Rio Branco em Petrópolis.jpg, Baron of Rio Branco's house
File:Lucílio de Albuquerque - Paisagem de Petrópolis, s.d..jpg, ''Landscape of Petrópolis'', unknown date
File:Agostinho José da Mota - Palácio Imperial de Petrópolis.JPG, Imperial Palace of Petrópolis, circa 1855
File:Petrópolis - RJ - portico.jpg, City entrance
File:Araucaria angustifolia.jpg, ''Araucaria angustifolia
''Araucaria angustifolia'', the Paraná pine, Brazilian pine or candelabra tree (, or ), is a critically endangered species in the Pinophyta, conifer genus ''Araucaria''. Although the common names in various languages refer to the species as a " ...
'', Brazilian pine
File:E. F. Leopoldina Locomotiva 11.jpg, The railway engine 11 was used on the railway line that, during the period 1883–1964, ran between 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 ...
and Petrópolis.
File:Lago do Quitandinha.jpg, Lake Quitandinha
File:Palácio Quitandinha, Petropolis, RJ, Brazil 08.jpg, Quitandinha Palace
File:0000 Casa 7 Erros.JPG, House of Ipiranga ("House of the Seven Mistakes")
File:Monumento a Dom Pedro II na Praça Dom Pedro II.jpg, Monument to Emperor Pedro II in the garden at the square which bears his name
File:Museu Imperial - Frente.jpg, Imperial Museum
File:Monumento a Dom Pedro II no Museu Imperial.jpg, Statue of Pedro II at the Imperial Museum
File:Paisagem de Petrópolis.JPG, Landscape of Petrópolis, in front of the Imperial Museum
File:Palácio Amarelo.jpg, ''Palácio Amarelo'' (Yellow Palace), the City Council of Petrópolis
File:Crystal Palace, Petrópolis.JPG, Crystal Palace
File:Petrópolis - RJ - Centro, banco.jpg, Bench in the center of Petrópolis
File:Petrópolis, Brazil. (50864585987).jpg, Downtown Petrópolis
File:Serra de Petropolis.JPG, Petrópolis' Mountains
File:Vale Imperial Residence.jpg, ''Vale Imperial Residence''
File:Petrópolis - RJ - Centro, Banco do Brasil.jpg, City centre
File:Petrópolis - RJ - Centro, Rua do Imperador.jpg, ''Rua do Imperador'' (Emperor Street)
File:0000 Vistas de Petrópolis (estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil) tiradas da Catedral.JPG, View from the cathedral tower
File:Petrópolis - RJ - Rua Irmãos D'Ângelo.jpg, Irmãos D'Ângelo Street
File:Igreja Cristã Maranata - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil.jpg, Evangelical church
File:Founders Obelisk, Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil.JPG, Obelisk of Petrópolis
File:Pétropolis Sao Pedro de Alcantara vitrail (1).jpg, Stained glass windows of Petrópolis Cathedral
File:Stained glass window of Saint Elisabeth of Hungary in cathedral of Sao Pedro de Alcantara.jpg, Stained glass windows of Petrópolis Cathedral
File:0002 Praca da Liberdade.JPG, Liberdade Square
File:Petrópolis - Cidade das Hortências e do Russo - Nevoeiro.jpg, Hydrangea
''Hydrangea'' ( or ) is a genus of more than 70 species of Flowering plant, flowering plants native plant, native to Asia and the Americas. Hydrangea is also used as the common name for the genus; some (particularly ''Hydrangea macrophylla, H. m ...
flowers in the fog
File:Trilha do Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos Sede Petrópolis.jpg, A trail at the Serra dos Órgãos
The Serra dos Órgãos ("Organ Range") is a mountain range in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It contains the Serra dos Órgãos National Park.
Location
The Serra dos Órgãos is the name of the region of the Serra do Mar in the central ...
National Park
References
External links
Petrópolis City Hall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petropolis
1843 establishments in Brazil
Populated places established in 1843
German-Brazilian culture