Ponta Grossa
| City of Ponta Grossa, Paraná | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| City | |||
City Landscape
|
|||
|
|||
| Nickname(s): Princesa dos Campos | |||
| Motto: 'Princesa dos Campos'(Princess of the fields) | |||
 Location of Ponta Grossa |
|||
 City of Ponta Grossa, Paraná
|
|||
| Coordinates: 25°25′S 49°15′W / 25.417°S 49.250°W | |||
| Country |
 Brazil
|
||
| Region | South | ||
| State | Paraná | ||
| Founded | 6 December 1855 | ||
| Incorporated | 1842 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Marcelo Rangel (PPS) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 2,067.6 km2 (798.65 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 975 m (3,199 ft) | ||
| Population (2009) | |||
| • Total | 331,084 | ||
| • 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, Paraná, Brazil is a municipality in the state of Paraná, Brazil. With a population of over 330,000 inhabitants, it is the 4th most populous city of Paraná.
It is the second industrial pole of the State, exceeded only 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.
Another 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 the beginning of December.
Ponta Grossa was founded in 1822, being created in 1823 the "Star Town", its first denomination. In April 1855, the town became a city, being separated from Castro and named Ponta Grossa.
The city in its beginning, in the seventeenth century, was oriented by the geographic location and being a route and stop for the sleeping of "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 (by early 1900) and was the state capital for five days during Ragamuffin War (Farrapos War).
The population is composed of many different ethnicities. In the earlier days, it was made up of explorers and distinguished families coming mainly from São Paulo. From the beginning of the twentieth century on, numerous Slavic (Russians, Poles and Ukrainians) and German families settled in the city, along with Dutch, Italian, Lebanese and Japanese immigrants. Germans and Slavs are the most numerous ones.
...
Wikipedia