Blumenau
Encyclopedia
Blumenau is a city in Vale do Itajaí
, state of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil
. It was founded on September 2, 1850 by Dr. Hermann Bruno Otto Blumenau along with 17 German
immigrants. A few years later Fritz Müller
migrated to Blumenau as well.
. The city displays many historical and cultural reminders of their heritage, such as houses and other buildings built in a traditional German style, statues, and memorials.
Blumenau, compared to other Brazilian cities, has a high standard of living, with a Human Development Index
of 0.855 as of 2000.
Source: IBGE
2000.
IBGE
. Census 2000.
, surrounded by hills with forests. The lower areas, including towers and tall buildings in the city center, constantly suffer from the threat of floods. Blumenau's first recorded flood took place in the dawn on September 23, 1880. The worst took place in 1983 and 1984, when the city was completely isolated for weeks. Today, Blumenau is well-prepared against such threats, but many citizens prefer to live in higher areas spread into the nearby hills and plains to avoid flooding. However, this planning could not avoid an even worse flooding
in late November 2008, killing over 100 and thousands evacuated.
. Under the Koppen climate classification
, the city has a warm, humid subtropical climate
.
Blumenau, like the entire state of Santa Catarina
is located south of the Tropic of Capricorn
; therefore it is mild in the winter with temperatures averaging 16.6°C (61°F) and warm and humid in the summer with temperatures averaging around 30°C (87°F).
, and the city the headquarters of the so-called Valley of the software
, and many software leaders in its segment, some of whom were born in Blusoft and Instituto Gene, incubators of companies in the sector.
Its main economic activity is still the textile industry
, responsible for large manufacturers such as Cia Hering, the Karsten
and Teka.
Blumenau is also emphasized in other industrial sectors such as metallurgical, mechanical and electrical equipment, and is the largest producer of pole transformers in Brazil.
Has a strong economy, boosted by strong trade, service and tourism events, with exhibitions of international projection, which are generally held in German Village
.
A new market, but expanding rapidly is the production of beer
craft, such as Eisenbahn
.
In 2005, the city has an export of products equivalent to U.S. $ 395,959,436.00, representing 6.1% of exports of the state.
Even though Blumenau has its own airport, normally passengers use scheduled flights operated from Ministro Victor Konder International Airport
, located in the nearby municipality of Navegantes
. Gol Airlines
and Azul Brazilian Airlines
offer for its passengers free bus transfers between Navegantes and Blumenau at regular times.
Also, the Oktoberfest held every October attracts over a million tourists every year.
Vale do Itajaí
Vale do Itajaí also known as Vale Europeu is a mesoregion located in the Northeastern part of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. It has about 1.3 million inhabitants and comprises four smaller regions: Blumenau, Itajaí, Ituporanga and Rio do Sul...
, state of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. It was founded on September 2, 1850 by Dr. Hermann Bruno Otto Blumenau along with 17 German
German Brazilian
A German Brazilian is a Brazilian person of ethnic German ancestry or origin...
immigrants. A few years later Fritz Müller
Fritz Müller
Johann Friedrich Theodor Müller , better known as Fritz Müller, and also as Müller-Desterro, was a German biologist and physician who emigrated to southern Brazil, where he lived in and near the German community of Blumenau, Santa Catarina...
migrated to Blumenau as well.
Demographics
As of 2006, Blumenau had an estimated population of 302,000 people, with an area of 519 km². The main ethnic origin of the city inhabitants are German and ItalianItalian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
. The city displays many historical and cultural reminders of their heritage, such as houses and other buildings built in a traditional German style, statues, and memorials.
Blumenau, compared to other Brazilian cities, has a high standard of living, with a Human Development Index
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries...
of 0.855 as of 2000.
Ethnic composition
| Race/Skin color | Percentage | Number |
| Whites White Brazilian White Brazilians make up 48.4% of Brazil's population, or around 92 million people, according to the IBGE's 2008 PNAD . Whites are present in the entire territory of Brazil, although the main concentrations are found in the South and Southeastern parts of the country... |
94.55% | 247,527 |
| Pardo Pardo In Brazil, Pardo is a race/colour category used by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics in Brazilian censuses. It is a Portuguese word that encompasses various shades of brown, but is usually translated as "grayish-brown"... s (brown) |
3.50% | 9,171 |
| Blacks Afro-Brazilian In Brazil, the term "preto" is one of the five categories used by the Brazilian Census, along with "branco" , "pardo" , "amarelo" and "indígena"... |
1.16% | 3,042 |
| Amerindian Indigenous peoples in Brazil The Indigenous peoples in Brazil comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country prior to the European invasion around 1500... s |
0.13% | 340 |
| Yellow Asian Brazilian An Asian Brazilian is is a Brazilian citizen of full or partial Asian ancestry, who remains culturally connected to Asia, or an Asian-born person permanently residing in Brazil. Brazil received many immigrants from Asia, both from Middle East and East Asia... (Asian) |
0.10% | 252 |
Source: IBGE
IBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics or IBGE , is the agency responsible for statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil...
2000.
Religion
| Religion | Percentage | Number |
| Catholic Catholic The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"... s |
73.90% | 193,474 |
| Protestants | 22.13% | 57,935 |
| No religion | 1.22% | 3,200 |
| Kardecists | 0.72% | 1,894 |
IBGE
IBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics or IBGE , is the agency responsible for statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil...
. Census 2000.
Geography and environment
The city is located in a valley bisected by the Itajaí-Açu RiverItajaí-Açu River
The Itajaí-Açu river is a river of Santa Catarina state in southeastern Brazil.-References:* ] map]...
, surrounded by hills with forests. The lower areas, including towers and tall buildings in the city center, constantly suffer from the threat of floods. Blumenau's first recorded flood took place in the dawn on September 23, 1880. The worst took place in 1983 and 1984, when the city was completely isolated for weeks. Today, Blumenau is well-prepared against such threats, but many citizens prefer to live in higher areas spread into the nearby hills and plains to avoid flooding. However, this planning could not avoid an even worse flooding
2008 Santa Catarina floods
The 2008 Santa Catarina floods were floods in the Santa Catarina, Brazil in November 2008. It occurred after a period of heavy rainfall during late November 2008, most significantly during days 20, 21, 22 and 23 of November...
in late November 2008, killing over 100 and thousands evacuated.
Climate
The climate of Blumenau is considered to be subtropical, a climate of transition between the predominantly tropical climate of Brazil and the predominantly temperate climate of ArgentinaArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. Under the Koppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
, the city has a warm, humid subtropical climate
Humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...
.
Blumenau, like the entire state of Santa Catarina
Santa Catarina (state)
Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in Latin America. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighbouring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by...
is located south of the Tropic of Capricorn
Tropic of Capricorn
The Tropic of Capricorn, or Southern tropic, marks the most southerly latitude on the Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This event occurs at the December solstice, when the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun to its maximum extent.Tropic of Capricorn is one of the five...
; therefore it is mild in the winter with temperatures averaging 16.6°C (61°F) and warm and humid in the summer with temperatures averaging around 30°C (87°F).
Economy
Another area of focus is that of information technologyInformation technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
, and the city the headquarters of the so-called Valley of the software
Brazilian Silicon Valley
Brazilian Silicon Valley is a term commonly applied to the region of Campinas and in southern region this term is applied for Florianópolis city, Brazil because of its similarity to the 'original' Silicon Valley, located in California in the USA....
, and many software leaders in its segment, some of whom were born in Blusoft and Instituto Gene, incubators of companies in the sector.
Its main economic activity is still the textile industry
Textile industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the production of yarn, and cloth and the subsequent design or manufacture of clothing and their distribution. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry....
, responsible for large manufacturers such as Cia Hering, the Karsten
Karsten
Karsten or Carsten is a Low German form of Christian. It is also a surname, and may refer to:-People:* Adrian Karsten , U.S. college football reporter* Christoffer Christian Karsten , Swedish opera singer...
and Teka.
Blumenau is also emphasized in other industrial sectors such as metallurgical, mechanical and electrical equipment, and is the largest producer of pole transformers in Brazil.
Has a strong economy, boosted by strong trade, service and tourism events, with exhibitions of international projection, which are generally held in German Village
German Village
German Village is a historic neighborhood just south of downtown Columbus. It was settled by a large number of German immigrants in the early-to-mid-19th century, who at one time comprised as much as a third of the population of the entire city...
.
A new market, but expanding rapidly is the production of beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
craft, such as Eisenbahn
Eisenbahn
Eisenbahn is a microbrewery located in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil. It produces beer and draft beer following the Reinheitsgebot, with a quite variety of flavours and fermentations. The name is an analogy to an old railroad station, that was close to the building now used by the company as a...
.
In 2005, the city has an export of products equivalent to U.S. $ 395,959,436.00, representing 6.1% of exports of the state.
Even though Blumenau has its own airport, normally passengers use scheduled flights operated from Ministro Victor Konder International Airport
Ministro Victor Konder International Airport
Navegantes-Ministro Victor Konder International Airport is the airport serving Navegantes, Brazil, as well as Itajaí, Camboriú, and Blumenau. It is named after the Itajaí-born Victor Konder , a Minister of Public Works , whose administration encouraged the birth of Brazilian commercial aviation...
, located in the nearby municipality of Navegantes
Navegantes
Navegantes is a coastal and tourist city located in Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil.Ministro Victor Konder International Airport serves the popular beach resort of Balneário Camboriú, and other cities including Itajaí and Blumenau....
. Gol Airlines
Gol Transportes Aéreos
Gol Transportes Aéreos is a Brazilian airline based in Comandante Lineu Gomes Square, São Paulo City, Brazil....
and Azul Brazilian Airlines
Azul Brazilian Airlines
Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras S/A is a Brazilian domestic low-cost airline based in Barueri. It was established on 5 May 2008 by Brazilian-born David Neeleman, founder and former-CEO of JetBlue. The airline began service on December 15, 2008 and has ordered a fleet of 76 Embraer 195 jets...
offer for its passengers free bus transfers between Navegantes and Blumenau at regular times.
Tourism
The Secretariat of Tourism of Blumenau maintain 4 tour routes covering different aspects of the city. And besides these, another attraction is the festival of the municipality.Also, the Oktoberfest held every October attracts over a million tourists every year.
Divisions
Blumenau has 2 districts and 33 neighbourhoods:
|
Itoupava Norte Itoupava Norte is a neighborhood of Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil located on the left bank of the River Itajai-Açu. The principal streets are 2 de Setembro and Primeiro de Janeiro. A big part of this neighborhood is subject to flooding. Teka and Mogk are the most important plants in this place... |
|
Landmark dates
- The city was owned by its founder for 32 years, until it was emancipated on March 18, 1882.
- Blumenau was Brazil's first city to have public electrical lights in the streets. They started working on February 19, 1909.
- The city was divided in 1934, creating four new towns: Gaspar, Indaial, Timbó, and Dalbérgia (later renamed Ibirama).
- Cinema began in Blumenau in 1900. Radio arrived in 1935, and television in 1969.
- Teatro Carlos Gomes, the city's main theatre, was opened to the public in 1939.
- In 1956 the city's first major church opened. It was later rebuilt in 1963, with the addition of a bell tower.
- The city's most famous landmark is Moellman's Castle, a replica of the city hall of the German town of MichelstadtMichelstadtMichelstadt in the Odenwald is a town in the Odenwaldkreis in southern Hesse, Germany between Darmstadt and Heidelberg.- Location :Michelstadt is the biggest town in the Odenwaldkreis and borders on the district seat of Erbach....
. It was inaugurated in 1978. - The city's new city hall was inaugurated in 1982.
- Blumenau's first shopping center opened in 1994.
Famous inhabitants
- Theo Balden, sculptor and writer;
- Fritz MüllerFritz MüllerJohann Friedrich Theodor Müller , better known as Fritz Müller, and also as Müller-Desterro, was a German biologist and physician who emigrated to southern Brazil, where he lived in and near the German community of Blumenau, Santa Catarina...
, biologist; - Vera FischerVera FischerVera Lúcia Fischer is a Brazilian actress of long-standing reputation and works in cinema and for the small screen, particularly for telenovelas. A former beauty pageant titleholder, she was crowned Miss Brazil in 1969.-Biography:...
, actress; - Mariana WeickertMariana WeickertMariana Weickert is a Brazilian model of German descent affiliated to Ford Models. She regularly modeled in cities such as Paris, Milan, London and New York, for such high fashion houses such as Alexander McQueen, Sonia Rykiel, Bottega Veneta, Marc Jacobs, Ana Molinari, Narciso Rodrigues,...
, model; - Ana Moser, volleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
player. - Rafael SchmitzRafael SchmitzRafael Schmitz is a Brazilian footballer who is currently playing for Valenciennes FC.Schmitz, born in Blumenau, is a commanding central defender who is good in the air but also very agile and has good passing ability....
, Lille OSC footballFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player. - Tiago SplitterTiago SplitterTiago Splitter is a Brazilian professional basketball player who also holds Spanish citizenship. Along with his native language Portuguese, he also speaks English and Spanish...
, Professional basketball player (San Antonio Spurs contracted) - Emílio Henrique BaumgartEmílio Henrique BaumgartEmílio Henrique Baumgart or Emil Heinrich Baumgart was a Brazilian engineer.-Background:Baumgart was born on May 25, 1889 in the city of Blumenau, in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Emílio Henrique Baumgart's father was the German immigrant Gustav Baumgart and his mother was Mathilde...
, architect - Hermann BlumenauHermann BlumenauHermann Bruno Otto Blumenau was a Brazilian pharmacist who founded the city of Blumenau, situated in the Itajaí-Açu river valley in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil....
, founder of the city - Evandro GoebelEvandro GoebelEvandro Goebel or simply Evandro is a Brazilian attacking midfielder. He also holds Italian and Serbian passports. He currently plays for Red Star Belgrade in the Serbian SuperLiga.- Career :...
, soccer player - Christian Maicon HeningChristian Maicon HeningChristian Maicon Hening , better known under the nickname "Chris", is a professional Brazilian footballer who currently plays for VfL Wolfsburg. He played for Eintracht Frankfurt from 2003 to 2011, and was named club captain prior to the 2010–11 season.-External links:* * at eintracht-archiv.de...
, soccer player - Lindolf Bell, writer
- Dennis Radünz, writer
- Urda Alice Klueger, writer
- João Geraldo KuhlmannJoão Geraldo KuhlmannJoão Geraldo Kuhlmann was aBrazilian botanist.Kuhlmann was a specialist on Taxonomy of Angiosperms...
, botanist - Jean Carlo Witte, soccer player
- Eduarda AmorimEduarda AmorimEduarda Idalina "Duda" Amorim is a Brazilian handball player. She plays for the Hungarian club Győri Audi ETO KC and for the Brazilian national team...
, handball player - Ernst Robert Steinbach, co-founder of the well known Lojas Hering
- André SáAndré SáAndré Rezende Sá is a professional Brazilian tennis player. He is number 29 for doubles, and 467 for singles.-Personal:...
, professional tennis player