Santa Cruz do Sul

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São João Batista Cathedral in front of Getúlio Vargas Square in Santa Cruz do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Santa Cruz do Sul Oktoberfest 2003 logo

Santa Cruz do Sul is a city in central Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The city has approximately 117,000 inhabitants and sits about 150 km (about 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 average person's salary in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

The center 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 in 1977.

Industry 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 major cigarette companies have factories in or around Santa Cruz. Soy bean processing plants sell several million tons of animal fodder annually, for domestic use and for export.

[edit] Oktoberfest

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 Oktoberfest celebration.