Ponta Grossa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| City of Ponta Grossa | |||
 |
|||
|
|||
| Nickname: Princesa dos Campos | |||
| Motto: 'Princesa dos Campos'(Princess of the fields) | |||
 |
|||
  City of Ponta Grossa
|
|||
| Coordinates: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Brazil |
||
| Region | South | ||
| State | Paraná | ||
| Founded | December 6, 1855 | ||
| Incorporated | 1842 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Pedro Wosgrau (PSDB) | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 2,067.6 km² (798.65 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 975 m (3,199 ft) | ||
| Population (2007)[1] | |||
| - Total | 309,909 | ||
| - Density | 150.55/km² (388/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | UTC-3 (UTC-3) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | UTC-2 (UTC-2) | ||
| Area code(s) | 42 | ||
| HDI (2000) | 0.804 – high | ||
| Website: Ponta Grossa, Paraná | |||
Ponta Grossa is a city in the state of Paraná, Brazil. With a population of over 300,000 inhabitants, it is the 5th most populated city of Paraná.
It has the second industrial pole of the State, been only exceeded by Curitiba—the State's capital and largest city. Ponta Grossa, also known as the Princesa dos Campos—Princess of the Fields, is the home of the Ponta Grossa State University (UEPG).
Ponta Grossa is also home town of the "Parque Estadual da Vila Velha" (State Park of Old Town), a park made up of rocky formations formed over millions of years. Each rock formation has its own name, depending on which object/animal they look like.
Other attraction of the city is the Münchenfest - A National Stout Festival with national and international concerts that lasts a whole week and occurs at late November and beggining of december
Contents |
[edit] History
Ponta Grossa was founded on 1822, being created in 1823 the “Star Town”, its first denomination. On april of 1855, the town became a city, being dismembered from Castro, named Ponta Grossa.
The history of the city on its beginning, on century XVIII, was oriented by the geographic location and being route and stop for sleeping of the “troops”, transport of resources and trade between the cities of “Viamão” (on southern Brazil) and Sorocaba (on center-east). Nowadays, Ponta Grossa has the biggest road and rail complex of the south region of the country.
The city already was the second biggest city in the Paraná State (on early 1900) and state capital for five days during Guerra dos Farrapos (Farrapos War).
[edit] Geography
[edit] Limits
To north the cities of Castro and Carambeí, to south the cities of Palmeira and Teixeira Soares, to east the city of Campo Largo and Tibagi and Ipiranga on West
The area is served by many rivers, with prominence to: Tibagi, Verde, Pitangui, also the “Chapada” Creek. As well the basin of Botuquara, of “Rio da Morte”, “Terra Vermelha Creek” and “Quebra Perna River”.
[edit] Turismo
The visitants has many options of touristic attractions, many of then not reachable by pubic transport.
[edit] Attractions
- Old Town State Park (In portuguese: Parque Estadual de Ponta Grossa)
- Priest's Whole (pt: Buraco do Padre) and Mariquinha Fall (pt:Cachoeira da Marinquinha) - both private properties. For nautic sports, the tourists and ponta-grossenses has the Alagados Dam, far 7,5 miles from the downtown. All these places are considered way pretty and calm for families tour. The access for then are by paved and unpaved roads.
On one day trips, attractions from the region of Campos Gerais are also available. The notability are for Guartela Canyon, on the city of Tibagi, and the dutch village and its historical mill in Castroland District and the Tropeiro Museum, both in Castro.
The most common adventure sports on the region are climbing/rapel, on country area of Ponta Grossa - like the stone walls on Mariquinha Fall and Priest's Whole - and slalom/canoeing on the Tibagi River, in the city of Castro
- Historical Buildings
From the architectural point of view, the city has an interesting patrimony. Constructions like Vila Hilda Mansion (pt: Mansão Vila Hilda) (actual seat of Culture secretariat), the formers train station Casa da Memória Paraná, Art Station and Longing Station, the Campos Gerais Museum, the Epoch Museum, the Opera Theather, Planalto Palace Hotel, and more, that take us to 19th century and beginning of 20th century, when the city was the third biggest in South Region of Brazil.
One of the religious attractions are the Resurrection Monastery, Rosario Church, Santa Barbara chapel and São José Graveyard. The city also has other old buildings and houses around XV and Vicente Machado Streets. The city suffers a boom of modernization on the central area, mainly on 1970's, that delays until nowadays.
New modern and in the forefront constructions are the Santana Cathedral and many private houses.
- Business Tourism and Hospitality
The business tourism increased a lot between 1990's and 2000's with the constructions of new hotels, that totalize almost 2000 rooms available in Ponta Grossa. The city has the major areas for events, the City of Ponta Grossa Events Center, the Slaviero Hotel Convention Center and from Palladium Shopping Mall. Other hotels, like Planalto Palace Hotel and Bristol Vila Velha, offers areas for small and medium size events.
- Cultural Attractions and Events
Theater and Musical Concerts area regularly available in places such like Opera Theater and Marista Theater. There's four movies theaters in the the city.
There's also annual events, the main is the National Stout Festival, called Münchenfest, with German typical dances and Concerts with national and international artists. Other events are Grape Festival, Rodeo of Rodeos, Campos Gerais Farming and Cattle Raising Fair, called Efapi, and many others.
[edit] Education
The city has two public colleges:
- Ponta Grossa State University (UEPG) (Pt: Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa)
- Parana Federal Technological University (UTFPR) (Pt:Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná)
Both institutions attract undergraduate and graduate students from many regions, mostly from the south of Brazil. The city also has private colleges as Faculdades Uniao, Faculdades Santa Amelia (Secal) e Sant'Ana, Centro de Ensino Superior dos Campos Gerais (Cescage) and a campus of Centro Universitário Campos de Andrade (Uniandrade).
[edit] Cultura
On cultural area, Ponta Grossa is the most detached in the State of Parana. The city has three theaters in perfect conditions of usage, totalizing almost 3000 seats, movie theaters, arts gallery and places for visual arts and music expositions and events. On the production of arts are offered college majors in Visual Arts and Music, both at Ponta Grossa State University (UEPG), besides the Ponta Grossa Symphony Orchestra and Paulimo Martins Music School.
Museum
- Campos Gerais Museum
- Epoch Museum
- Egiptian Museum
- Casa da Memória Paraná
Teatros
- Opera Theater
- Marista Theater
- Pax Theater
Cinema
- Multiplex Palladium
Arts Galleries Galerias de arte
- Culture Center City of Ponta Grossa
- pinacotheca Cidade de Ponta Grossa
 |
This Brazil location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
