Sobral 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 state of

Ceará Ceará (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of th ...

, Brazil. Sobral is the fifth largest municipality of Ceará, after

Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the ...

. Its economy is based on agriculture, services and some manufacturing

industries 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 secto ...

. The city has two public universities: Universidade Federal do Ceará) and

Universidade Estadual do Vale do Acaraú The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and " Olympiad". The Universiade is refer ...

. It also has private universities, such as , Unopar, and − a theological institute. The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sobral. The city is known for being the place where the astronomical observation of a

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six mo ...

on May 29, 1919, by a team of British scientists led by Sir Frank Watson Dyson was offered as the first proof of

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...

's theory of

general relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity and Einstein's theory of gravity, is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physics. ...

, which had been published in 1916. The town's ("Museum of the Eclipse") celebrates this event. There is a monument in Patrocínio Square marking the location of this solar eclipse. A planetarium was also inaugurated in 2015 next to this monument.

Government

* Ivo Gomes ( PDT)

Climate

The climate of Sobral is hot almost all year. The temperature in the municipality varies from 22 to 36 °C (72 to 97 °F).

Education

Universities

* Universidade Vale do Acaraú (Acaraú Valley University) * Universidade Federal do Ceará (Federal University of Ceará) There are 105 schools in the city.

Public schools

* Escola Municipal de Ensino Fundamental Sinhá Saboia * Escola Estadual Dom José Tupinambá da Frota * Escola Municipal Emílio Sendim * Escola Municipal Maria do Carmo de Andrade * Escola Municipal Mocinha Rodrigues * Escola Padre Osvaldo Chaves * Escola Prof Gerardo Rodrigues de Albuquerque * colégio sobralense de tempo integral maria dias ibiapína

Private schools

* Escola Sant´Ana * Escola Luciano Feijão * Escola Farias Brito Sobralense * Escola José Romão * Escola do Patrocinio * Escola São Francisco de Assis * colégio maria imaculada

Media

Radio

The city has thirteen radio stations. * Jovem Pan FM * Rede Jangadeiro * Rede Som Zoom Sat * Rede Plus FM * Coqueiros FM * Paraíso FM * Public Radio * Sobral Public Radio * Caiçara AM * Tupinambá AM * Regional * Ressureição * Educadora do Nordeste de Sobral

Television

The city has one television station, NordesTV.

Tourist attractions

* Museu do Eclipse (Museum) * Museu Dom José (Museum) * Museu MADI (Museum) * Teatro São José (Theatre) * Teatro São João (Theatre) * Biblioteca Pública Municipal (Library)

Access

Four roads give access to the city: BR-222, , CE-441 and BR-220. The city is served by Cel. Virgílio Távora Airport.

Notable people

Ciro Gomes Ciro Ferreira Gomes (; born 6 November 1957), known mononymously as Ciro, is a Brazilian politician, lawyer, and academic. Ciro is currently affiliated with and vice-president of the Democratic Labour Party (PDT). Born in São Paulo but raise ...

, former governor and mayor of Fortaleza, former finance minister (Originally from Pindamonhangaba,

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

) * Florent Amodio,

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are m ...

Maria Tomásia Figueira Lima Maria Tomásia Figueira Lima (6 December 1826 - 1902) was a Brazilian aristocrat and abolitionist.Schumaher, Schuma; Vital Brasil, Érico (2000). ''Dicionário Mulheres do Brasil: de 1500 até a atualidade'' (in Portuguese). Editora Zahar. She was ...

(1826-1902), aristocrat, abolitionist * Cid Gomes, former governor *

Patrícia Saboya Patrícia Lúcia Saboya Ferreira Gomes (née Mendes; born 10 October 1962) is a Brazilian teacher, writer, and politician. Biography Patrícia Saboya was born in Sobral, Ceará on 10 October 1962, the third daughter of José Saboia Neto and Ma ...

, former

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

* Antônio Renato Aragão, comic actor, film producer, and writer * Belchior, singer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sobral, Ceara Municipalities in Ceará Populated places established in 1772