Santa Cruz do Sul

Santa Cruz do Sul (pronunciation ) is a city in central Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The city has an estimate 130,000 inhabitants as of 2019 and sits about 150 km (93 miles) from the capital city of the state, Porto Alegre. The city enjoys a high standard of living and gross income per capita is 2.5 times greater than that of the state of Rio Grande do Sul as a whole.

Município de Santa Cruz do Sul
Municipality
Flag
Coat of arms
Coordinates: 29°43′04″S 52°25′33″W
CountryBrazil
RegionSouth
StateRio Grande do Sul
Founded31 March 1877
Government
 • MayorTelmo José Kirst (PP)
Area
 • Total733.5 km2 (283.2 sq mi)
Elevation
122 m (400 ft)
Population
 (2016 est.)[1]
 • Total126,775
 • Density170/km2 (450/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-3 (UTC-3)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-2 (UTC-2)
Websitesantacruz.rs.gov.br

History

Santa Cruz do Sul was founded on March 31, 1877 by German immigrants, most of whom came from Hunsrück. Even today, the so-called Riograndenser Hunsrückisch is spoken actively in the area around the city. In 1924, a Protestant church was built according to the plans of two German architects. It is one of the largest Protestant Lutheran churches in Rio Grande do Sul and the largest neo-Romanesque church in Latin America. The Protestant church, renovated in 1999 with an organ from 1887 of the German company Ibach from Barmen.

Demographics

The population of Santa Cruz do Sul has steadily increased, with help from immigration to Brazil during its early history – in 1849 there were 12 inhabitants, ten years later the city population had reached 2723 people, and in 1878 there were ten thousand inhabitants.[2] Most of the early immigrants were farmers and craftsmen.

Population of Santa Cruz do Sul
YearPop.
1890 15,536 [3]
1900 23,158 [3]
1920 41,136 [3]
1940 55,041 [3]
1950 69,605 [3]
1960 75,931 [3]
1970 86,787 [3]
1980 99,645 [3]
1991 117,773 [3][lower-alpha 1]
2000 107,642 [3][lower-alpha 2]
2007 115,857 [3]
2010 106,669 [4]
2016 126,775 [1]
Multiple sources with conflicting values for the population.

Agriculture

The area around Santa Cruz do Sul is mainly agricultural, and produces large quantities of tobacco and soy beans for animal fodder. Most of the tobacco produced in the area is exported as a raw material for cigarette manufacturing plants all over the world. Soy bean processing plants sell several million tons of animal fodder annually, for domestic use and for export.[2]

Oktoberfest
Main article: Oktoberfest of Santa Cruz do Sul

Each year, the citizens of Santa Cruz do Sul and visitors from the region celebrate Oktoberfest. The city has a large population of German-Brazilians. Thousands turn out each year for the celebration. The Oktoberfest in Santa Cruz do Sul is the third largest in the world, leaving behind only the Oktoberfest in Munich in Germany and Oktoberfest Blumenau of the state of Santa Cartarina in Brazil as well.

Tourism
See also: Tourism in Brazil

The Cathedral of São João Batista is one of the main tourist draws in the city. The adjacent block in front of the Cathedral, Getúlio Vargas Square, is adorned with fountains and trees. São João Batista Cathedral is one of the largest cathedrals in all of Brazil. The main edifice was built between 1928 and 1932 and the two 82-meter (269 ft) tall towers were added later.

Awards

The Prefeitura Municipal de Santa Cruz do Sul won a 2004 Energy Globe Award for the João-de-Barro Bom-Plac House Project.[5]

Notable people

Notes
  1. 78,291 according to [4]
  2. 96,410 according to [4]

References
  1. "Santa Cruz do Sul" (in Portuguese). Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Retrieved 21 Jan 2017.
  2. MONTALI, Lilia (1979). Universidade de São Paulo (ed.). Do núcleo colonial ao capitalismo monopolista: produção de fumo em Santa Cruz do Sul (Thesis) (in Portuguese).
  3. Molina, G.S.L.F. (2010). Um estudo comparado sobre o desenvolvimento industrial de Caxias do Sul e de Santa Cruz do Sul (Thesis) (in Portuguese). Universidade de Santa Cruz do Sul. p. 154. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  4. "Tabela 202: População residente, por sexo e situação do domicílio". IBGE. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  5. "World Energy Globe Award (Earth)". Energy Globe. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
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