Porto União is a city located in the Northern Plateau in the State of Santa Catarina and on the left bank of

Iguazu River The Iguazu River ( , ), also called Rio Iguassu, (from the Guaraní ''í Guazú'', literally "Big Water") is a river in Brazil and Argentina. It is an important tributary of the Paraná River. The Iguazu River is long, with a drainage basin of ...

, bordering the city of

União da Vitória União da Vitória is a municipality in the state of Paraná in Brazil. Its population was about 57,913 people in 2020. In the economic area, União da Vitória's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is US$115,364,648.65. History The colonization of ...

, Paraná. In 2020, its population was estimated in 35,543 inhabitants.

History

The history of Porto União has always been intrinsically connected with the

and with what is considered its twin city

. It all began in 1842 with the discovery of the 'Vau do Iguaçu' (literally meaning 'Iguazu Ford'), the best connection between the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and the Southeast Region, where the army troops and people from

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

known as 'tropeiros' used to cross the river with their oxen in order to sell them in

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 ...

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 ...

. It was also an important stop point for those who used the river in transportation, receiving its first name: Porto da União (Harbour of Union). In a few years, the area rapidly developed. The small village grew and in 1855 its name was changed to Porto União da Vitória. In the same year, immigration began with the influx of

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 ...

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

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 ...

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. ...

Austrians Austrians (, ) are the citizens and Nationality, nationals of Austria. The English term ''Austrians'' was applied to the population of Archduchy of Austria, Habsburg Austria from the 17th or 18th century. Subsequently, during the 19th century, ...

and

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

. In 1901, its name again changed, this time to

. In 1912, the

Contestado War The Contestado War (), broadly speaking, was a guerrilla war for land between settlers and landowners, the latter supported by the Brazilian state's police and military forces, that lasted from October 1912 to August 1916. It was fought in an i ...

took place and on September 5, 1917 the municipality of Porto União was created. In the 1950s, both cities, União da Vitória and Porto União, reach their economic and regional importance as the result the growth of the native wood market and of yerba mate. Nowadays, the city, just like its twin, lives of the non-native wood market and tourism. Porto União has a subtropical Cfa-like climate with hot summers and rainy months

Climate

References

Municipalities in Santa Catarina (state) {{SantaCatarina-geo-stub