Pomerode
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pomerode | |||
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| Nickname: The most German city in Brazil | |||
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  Pomerode
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| Country |  Brazil |
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| Region | South | ||
| State |  Santa Catarina |
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| Founded | January 21, 1959 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Ércio Krieck | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 215.904 km² (83.4 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| - Total | 24.607 | ||
| - Density | 114/km² (295.3/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | UTC-3 (UTC-3) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | UTC-2 (UTC-2) | ||
| HDI (2000) | 0.774 | ||
| Website: www.pomerode.sc.gov.br | |||
Pomerode is a Brazilian city in the state of Santa Catarina, in Southern Brazil. It is located in the valley of the Itajaí-Açu river, not very far from the city of Blumenau, one of the largest cities in the state.
Pomerode is known as the most German city in Brazil, because the vast majority of its inhabitants are of German descent and are bilingual in German and Portuguese.
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[edit] History and the local language
Pomerode was founded by Pomeranian Germans in 1861 and is considered the "most typically German of all German towns of southern Brazil".
One very remarkable characteristic about Pomerode that often doesn't receive the attention that it deserves is the fact that Pommersch is still being preserved by the majority of the local population.
In Pomerode, like in some other localities throughout southern Brazil, the German language is not a foreign language but instead it's a Brazilian linguistic regionalism. (see also Santa Maria de Jetiba, Espírito Santo)
It should be noted that for a good part of the 20th century, the Brazilian government did not encourage people to speak the German language. As a matter of fact, at times it was actively repressed and prohibited, like during Getúlio Vargas's presidency. Today on the other hand the German language is part of the curriculum in local schools and strongly encouraged by the local governments throughout southern Brazil.
If Pomeranian (i.e. Pommersch, not to be confused with Slavic Kashubian which is in English also called Pomeranian) is spoken by most town inhabitants of Pomerode (alongside with Portuguese), most German-Brazilians who are bilingual speak the Riograndenser Hunsrückisch or Hunsrückisch German dialect.
[edit] Ethnicity
| Race/Skin color | Percentage | Number |
| Whites | 97.56% | 21,588 |
| Pardos (brown) | 1.73% | 382 |
| Blacks | 0.24% | 53 |
| Amerindians | 0.0% | 0 |
| Yellow (Asian) | 0.07% | 16 |
[edit] Religion
| Religion | Percentage | Number |
| Catholics | 31.17% | 6,896 |
| Protestants | 66.39% | 14,690 |
| No religion | 0.98% | 217 |
| Kardecists | 0.13% | 29 |
Lutherans are 63.76% of the population.
[edit] Tourism and economy
Pomerode has a long history developing its manufacturing industry like other cities in the region. It is also located in a very rich agricultural valley. Additionally, in the last few decades the creation and development of the tourist industry has become a priority. To accomplish that, great efforts are being made to reinforce and celebrate the pioneering roots of the local inhabitants.
Blumenau's tourist industry is very well developed attracting millions of visitors annually to its festivals such as Oktoberfest, the largest one in the world after the original festival in Munich. Naturally, this has generated a very positive impact on the tourist industry of much smaller Pomerode located nearby (about thirty kilometers or so).
In addition to tourism the economy is dependent on industry, which includes knitted clothing, plastic articles, state of the art metal and mechanical industries, garments and cloth, and furniture.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Pomerode's official website. Accessed on April 16, 2006.(Portuguese)
- Pomerode Online. In English, German and Portuguese, accessed on April 16, 2006.
- Travel Guide: Pomerode. In English, accessed on April 16, 2006.
- Pomerode in Pictures. Visual content, accessed on April 16, 2006.
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