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Blumenau is one of the most important cities in the State of Santa Catarina; the city, distant 139 km from the capital Florianopolis, was built close to where the river Itajai meets the affluents Testo, Itoupava, Velha and Garcia. Average temperature is 21 C; the southern States of Brazil are below the Tropic of Capricorn Line, with a climate more similar to the temperated Germany than the rest of Brazil.
Blumenau was founded in 1850 by German immigrant Hermann Otto Blumenau and other sixteen fellow countrymen; they were impressed with the fertility of the soil in the Itajai Valley and the agricultural potential of Brazil.
The colony founded by Herman had, in 1880, 15,000 inhabitants, practically all of them Germans (there was not miscegenation between the immigrants and the Brazilians); in 1894, the colony was elevated to the status of city.
Even though the initial settlers had the intention to develop an agricultural colony, many of the immigrants which arrived later had other skills, which changed the business orientation of the city; in the century XX, Blumenau became an industrial city.
In 2000, the city had 261,505 inhabitants; many people in the rural area of Blumenau still speak German and live by German traditions. Blumenau and the surrounding cities make up of the most important textile clusters in the world; the metalic and machinery sectors are also relevant in the economy of the region.
Visit the Blumenau official site
In the 1980s, Blumenau was hit by a severe flood; the waters of Itajai damaged a good part of the city. As a means to collect reconstruction funds, a party - the Oktoberfest - was organized, mirrored on the event with the same name which happens in Munich. The Oktboberfest became a tradition, happening every year from 10 to 27 October; it's one of the most popular parties in Brazil, with over 1,000,000 visitants.
Read more about Oktoberfest in Blumenau, Brazil
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