With just over 307,000 inhabitants according to the most recent estimate by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) and located in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro, about 800 meters above sea level, Petrópolis was founded in 1843 by the Emperor Dom Pedro 2º, to whom the name of the municipality honors. The rains that hit the city since Tuesday (15) have already left dozens of dead due to landslides and other occurrences.
In the hottest months of the year, Petrópolis was the destination of a good part of the Portuguese court, which arrived in Rio de Janeiro in 1808. The mild climate is the result of the combination between the mountains and the preservation of a good part of the Atlantic Forest. Due to historical factors, currently, tourism was one of the main economic activities in the city, right after textile confections.
Director of the Fiscal Advisory Board of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Alerj), Mauro Osório recalls that the tradition of summer vacations in the mountain town continues to this day, and that, until the mandate of President Costa e Silva (1967-1969), all Brazilian presidents spent their holidays at the Barão do Rio Negro Palace. The facilities were used by Presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Luís Inácio Lula da Silva.
“Tourism is very important for a number of locations in Petrópolis, such as the districts of Itaipava, Pedro do Rio and many neighborhoods in the first district, but the most important thing for the city’s economy is the clothing hub, concentrated in Bigen, which its greatest symbol is the stores on Rua Teresa, which distribute the items throughout Brazil”, explains the economist, who lived in the city, where he was a university professor.
Doctor in History and professor at UFF (Universidade Federal Fluminense) and Uerj (University of the State of Rio de Janeiro), Marcus Dezemone, highlights that the installation of the then Royal Family in Petrópolis dynamized the city, which became the most important economy of the Mountain Region. Either by the concentration of income, or by the expansion of the service supply base.
The researcher highlights the São Pedro de Alcântara Cathedral, in neo-Gothic style, as well as the parliaments of London (England) and Budapest (Hungary), the Imperial Museum and the Crystal Palace, commissioned by the Count d’Eu, husband of Princess Isabel . The construction was made in the shape of a greenhouse, a style common in the late 19th century, predominantly in iron, steel and glass.
The advance guaranteed the construction of equipment-symbol of the city in other periods, such as the Hotel Quitandinha, where the presidents of Brazil and the USA signed the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Tiar) in 1947.
“This is an important topic at a time when Ukraine’s NATO membership is being discussed so much. The Tiar is a predecessor of NATO. The investments made in the city, which began with the arrival of the Royal Family, attracted a series of other investments in different periods that dynamized the city and offered a wide range of services. Quitandinha, for example, is a work of Getúlio Vargas’ Estado Novo”, he explains.
Dezemone also points out that Petrópolis became the capital of the State of Rio de Janeiro after 1889, when the Republic was proclaimed. This is because the city of Rio de Janeiro was then elevated to the status of neutral municipality. Thus, Petrópolis was the capital of Rio de Janeiro, before the post was transferred to Niterói. All this, before the neutral municipality became Guanabara and, later, merged with the former state of Rio de Janeiro.
“In Petrópolis, there are now symbols of the colonial, imperial and republican periods. The rains were essentially concentrated in the center of Petrópolis, which is the most historic region. Currently, the city also has another tourism profile, more focused on the younger audience. Ecotourism, which works in areas that were less affected”, concludes the researcher.
Osório also highlights another less perceived vocation of the city: in addition to being a summer destination for the wealthiest families, it concentrates an important population of retired elderly people.
“Many people who used to live in Rio spend their entire retirement in Petrópolis, not just for the weekend at the mountain house. And there is an important concentration of the economic elite there, due to the maintenance of an old tradition of those looking for a tranquility that is no longer found in large cities”, concludes the economist.
Photos – Rains cause destruction in Petrópolis
Source: CNN Brasil
