 |
 |
 |
| | |
| Brazil --» Tourism --» cities and resorts --» Belem |
| ||||
|
Belem - the capital of state ParáБелен, штат Пара См. Фото-галерею Founded in 1616, Belém was the first European colony on the Amazon but didn't become part of the Brazilian nation until 1775. Its metropolitan area has approximately 2.09 million inhabitants. It is also known as Metropolis of the Brazilian Amazon region or Cidade das Mangueiras (city of mango trees) due to the number of those trees found in the city. The newer part of the city has modern buildings and skyscrapers. The colonial portion retains the charm of tree filled squares, churches and traditional blue tiles. Belém is served by the Val de Cães International Airport (BEL) that connects the city to the rest of the country and other cities in South America. Brazilians often refer to the city as Belém do Pará ("Belém of Pará") rather than just Belém so as to differentiate it from Bethlehem in the West Bank. Belém is a rainy city and hot. Humidity is very high. The climate is equatorial which means little variance from day to day, but the wettest months are between January and May. The city is home to the Federal University of Pará. The city has a rich history and architecture from colonal times, natural rubber boom, World War II, 1960-70s amazonic rediscovering and recently skyscraper boom. The Belém International Airport connects Belém with Brazilian cities and also operates international flights. Distances
Manaus: 96 hours by boat or ferry; History The city was founded on January 12, 1616 by capitain Francisco Caldeiras de Castelo Branco, who was sent by the Portuguese crown to defend the region against French, Dutch and British colonisation attempts. For this purpose, he built a fortress called Forte do Presépio (currently called Forte do Castelo). Initially, the city was named Feliz Lusitânia. Later it was renamed to Santa Maria do Grão Pará as well as Santa Maria de Belém do Grão Pará, finally receiving its current name Belém. Remote from the rest of the county and strongly linked to Portugal, Belém accepted Brazil's independence only in August 1823, almost one year after its declaration. In 1720, the city was made the seat of the Diocese of Belém do Pará. In 1835 it was a town of about 13,000, and extended on a grid pattern for a mere eight or nine blocks from the banks of the Pará River. A small hill overlooking the main harbour was topped by a colonial Portuguese fort and shore batteries.Betw een 1835 and 1840 Belém witnessed the Revolta dos Cabanos also known as the Cabanagem, a revolt considered to have had the most authentic popular participation in the country's history. Due to the growing importance of rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) from the end of the 19th until the beginning of the 20th century, Belém became a very important marketplace. During this period many important buildings were constructed, such as Palácio Lauro Sodré, Colégio Gentil Bitencourt, Teatro da Paz, Palácio Antônio Lemos and the Ver-o-Peso market. The Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi in Belém was renovated at this time also, although it had been founded in 1866. Snakes -- including one 10-foot (3.0 m) anaconda -- are increasingly invading Belém, driven from the rain forest by destruction of their natural habitat, the government's environmental protection agency said March 11, 2008. Culture
Círio de Nazaré
 Besides all the natural wealth, the State of Pará also shelters a valuable cultural treasure, about 40 indigenous groups, scattered through and area of over 23 million hectares. Of these, more than eight million have been delimited by Funai (National Foundation of the Indian), ensuring security and preservation of that space. Among the biggest indigenous communities there are the Andira Marau, Munduruku and the Kayapó. Carnival The four-day period before Lent leading up to Ash Wednesday is carnival time in Brazil. Rich and poor alike forget their cares as they party in the streets.
| |||
 | ||||
|
| ||||||||||||||
