Blumenau

Blumenau is a city in Vale do Itajaí, state of Santa Catarina, in the South Region of Brazil. It is 130 km (81 mi) away from the state capital of Florianópolis.

For other uses, see Blumenau (disambiguation).
Blumenau
Itajaí-Açu river seen from the surroundings of Garcia's stream mouth; city centre at left
Flag
Seal
Nickname(s): 
Cidade Jardim ("Garden City") and Alemanha Tropical ("Tropical Germany")
Location in the state of Santa Catarina
Blumenau
Location in Brazil
Coordinates: 26°55′08″S 49°03′57″W
CountryBrazil
RegionSouth
StateSanta Catarina
FoundedSeptember 2, 1850
Government
 • MayorMário Hildebrandt (2018-)
Area
 • Total519.837 km2 (200.710 sq mi)
Elevation
21 m (69 ft)
Population
 (2018 est.[1])
 • Total352,460
 • Density680/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
Time zoneGMT-3
Postal code
89000-000
Area code(s)+55 47
Neighboring municipalitiesBotuverá, Gaspar, Guabiruba, Indaial, Jaraguá do Sul, Luiz Alves, Massaranduba and Pomerode
Websitehttp://www.blumenau.sc.gov.br
Buildings that mimic timber framing
Aerial photo of the city centre
Serra do Itajaí National Park
Downtown Blumenau
Carlos Gomes Theater

The city was founded by the German chemist and pharmacist Hermann Bruno Otto Blumenau, who arrived on a boat via Itajaí-Açu River accompanied by seventeen other Germans. It has a cultural agenda focused on parties based on the daily life and habits of European immigrants, with emphasis on German heritage, including the second largest Oktoberfest in the world, which takes place during 17 days in October.


History

The city was founded September 2, 1850, by Dr. Hermann Bruno Otto Blumenau and seventeen other German immigrants. Later arrivals include biologist and early proponent of Darwinian Evolution, Fritz Müller.

The history of Blumenau is the result of the arrival of German immigrants who settled these fertile areas of Atlantic Forest. Having an interest in the problems faced by European immigrants, in 1845 Hermann Blumenau reached an agreement with the Society for the Protection of German Emigrants to represent it and traveled to Brazil, aiming to create new German settlements and to check the situation of those that already existed. He traveled to Rio Grande do Sul, and then to Santa Catarina, where he visited the German colony of São Pedro de Alcântara. Aware of comments about the Itajaí Valley, he explored it in detail, in association with his compatriot Ferdinand Hackradt, since the aforementioned society was dissolved.[2]

After taking certain precautions, Hermann Blumenau headed for Germany, to seek immigrants. On September 2, 1850, Hermann Blumenau returned to the chosen area with the seventeen initial immigrants. Despite the floods, the clashes with wild animals and even with the indigenous peoples, due to the work of German immigrants willing to migrate continuously in greater numbers, the settlement prospered.[2]

On February 4, 1880, the municipality of Blumenau was created, composed of about 13,000 residents.[2]

Demographics

As of 2018, Blumenau had an estimated population of 352,000 people, with an area of 519 km² (200 sq mi). The main ethnic origin of the city inhabitants are German and Italian.[3] 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 very high Human Development Index, 0.855 as of 2000.[4]

Ethnic composition
Source: 2010 IBGE Census[5]
Race/Skin color Percentage Number
Whites 89.86% 316.721
Pardos (Mixed-race) 8.15% 28,725
Blacks 1.57% 5,534
Amerindians 0.11% 388
Asian 0.31% 1,092

Religion
Source: 2010 IBGE Census[6]
Religion Percentage Number
Catholics 73.90% 193,474
Protestants 22.13% 57,935
No religion 1.22% 3,200
Kardecists 0.72% 1,894

Geography

The city is located in a valley bisected by the Itajaí-Açu River, 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, that killed over 100 and forced thousands to evacuate.

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 Argentina. Under the Köppen 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). In July 23, 2013 the downtown of the city got a snow-rain mix and higher neighborhoods had accumulating snow.[7]

Blumenau
Climate chart (explanation)
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
 
 
170
 
 
30
20
 
 
195
 
 
31
21
 
 
152
 
 
29
20
 
 
108
 
 
27
17
 
 
107
 
 
24
15
 
 
104
 
 
21
12
 
 
104
 
 
21
12
 
 
131
 
 
22
13
 
 
122
 
 
22
15
 
 
166
 
 
25
16
 
 
136
 
 
27
18
 
 
173
 
 
29
19
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: Weather Underground

Economy

Blumenau's main economic activity is still the textile industry, responsible for large manufacturers such as Cia. Hering, Karsten and Teka.

Another area of focus is that of information technology, 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. Blumenau is also emphasized in other industrial sectors such as metallurgical, mechanical and electrical equipment.

It has a strong economy, boosted by strong trade, service and tourism events, with exhibitions of international projection, which are generally held in Vila Germânica (Germanic Ville Park). Additionally, a new but rapidly expanding market is the production of beer craft, such as Eisenbahn.

Transport

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,[8] Azul Brazilian Airlines,[9] Latam, and Avianca offer for its passengers bus transfers between Navegantes and Blumenau at regular times.

Tourism

The Blumenau's Tourism Department maintains four tour routes covering different aspects of the city. Besides these, there's the festival of the municipality. Also, the Oktoberfest of Blumenau, held every October, which attracts over a million tourists every year.

Subdivisions

Blumenau has 35 neighbourhoods:

  • Água Verde
  • Badenfurt
  • Boa Vista
  • Bom Retiro
  • Centro
  • Escola Agrícola
  • Fidélis
  • Itoupavazinha
  • Jardim Blumenau
  • Nova Esperança
  • Passo Manso
  • Ponta Aguda
  • Progresso
  • Ribeirão Fresco
  • Salto
  • Salto do Norte
  • Salto Weissbach
  • Testo Salto
  • Tribess
  • Valparaíso
  • Velha
  • Velha Central
  • Velha Grande
  • Victor Konder
  • Vila Formosa
  • Vila Itoupava
  • Vila Nova
  • Vorstadt

Notable inhabitants
gollark: 3D graphics is hard.
gollark: OpenGL/LWJGL or something, it's quite complicated.
gollark: I prefer non-OOP languages.
gollark: I don't actually use Java in any case, I just have vague knowledge of it.
gollark: ↑ they're methods you call on a *class* instead of an instance of it, basically.

See also

References
  1. "Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics" (PDF) (in Portuguese). 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2019. 2018 Estimates of Population
  2. El-Khatib 1970, pp. 19-20.
  3. Archived April 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Ranking decrescente do IDH-M dos municípios do Brasil". Atlas do Desenvolvimento Humano. Programa das Nações Unidas para o Desenvolvimento (PNUD). 2000. Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
  5. "Sistema IBGE de Recuperação Automática - SIDRA". ibge.gov.br.
  6. "Sistema IBGE de Recuperação Automática - SIDRA". ibge.gov.br.
  7. "Neve é registrada em cinco pontos de Blumenau". Jornal de Santa Catarina.
  8. "Local Transportation-Navegantes". Gol Airlines. Archived from the original on 25 January 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  9. "Ônibus Executivo/Blumenau-Aeroporto de Navegantes" (in Portuguese). Azul Brazilian Airlines. Archived from the original on 22 March 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2011.

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