Natal (Brazil)

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Município de Natal
Natal
Aerial view, in the foreground the Newton-Navarro Bridge over the Rio Potenji
Aerial view, in the foreground the Newton-Navarro Bridge over the Rio Potenji
Natal (Brazil)
natal
natal
Coordinates 5 ° 48 ′  S , 35 ° 13 ′  W Coordinates: 5 ° 48 ′  S , 35 ° 13 ′  W
Location of the municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Norte
Location of the municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Norte
Symbols
coat of arms
coat of arms
flag
flag
Motto
" A nossa Cidadã "
founding December 25, 1599Template: Infobox location in Brazil / maintenance
Basic data
Country Brazil
State Rio Grande do Norte
ISO 3166-2 BR-RN
Região intermediária natal
Região imediata natal
Metropolitan area natal
structure 4 regions, 36 bairros
height 30 m
Waters South Atlantic , Rio Potenji
climate tropical, As
surface 167.4 km²
Residents 803,739 (2010)
Metropolitan area 1.58 millionTemplate: Infobox location in Brazil / maintenance
density 4,801.3  Ew. / km²
estimate 884.122 (July 1, 2019)
Parish code IBGE : 2408102
Post Code 59010-59139
Time zone UTC −3
Website natal.rn.gov.br (Brazilian Portuguese)
politics
City Prefect Álvaro Dias (2018-2020)
Political party MDB
Culture
Patron saint Nossa Senhora da Apresentação
( Our Lady in Jerusalem )
economy
GDP 21,845,481 thousand R $
24,891  R $ per person 
(2016)
HDI 0.763 (2010)
Natal by night (Ponta Negra)
Natal by night (Ponta Negra)

Natal , officially Municipio de Natal (German Christmas ), is the capital of the State of Rio Grande do Norte in the northeast of Brazil . The city had an estimated population of 884,122 as of July 1, 2019. The metropolitan area of ​​Natal has over 1.58 million inhabitants.

geography

Natal is located at the mouth of the Rio Potengi ("Rio Grande") near the Esquina Brasileira (northeastern cape of Brazil and South America). The city is located 550 km southeast of Fortaleza , 180 km north of João Pessoa and 290 km north of Recife . In 2012 the municipal area covered an area of ​​167.273 km², in 2018 the area was given as 167.401 km². The distance to the capital Brasília is 2227 km.

climate

Climate diagram

The climate is tropical with an average annual temperature of 26 ° C. The values ​​hardly differ over the year, only in June to August the average temperature is just below 25 ° C. The maximum values ​​reached during the day and the minimum values ​​achieved at night are close together, the difference is only about 6 ° C on an annual mean. Average monthly rainfall of around 100 to 200 mm falls in the months of January to July, from August to December there is little rain. A constant light wind from the Atlantic makes the climate pleasant.

history

French pirates under Jacques Riffault traded with the Tupi -Volk the Potiguar in the area of Natal. In 1597 the governor Francisco de Sousa ordered the expulsion of the pirates. This enterprise was successfully carried out by Manuel de Mascarenhas Homem and Jerônimo de Albuquerque Maranhão , who began on January 6, 1598 with the construction of the Forte dos Reis Magos .

The city was founded by the Portuguese colonial rulers on December 25, 1599. It was built around the fort that still exists today. Natal means Christmas in Portuguese , hence the name. Dutch of the Dutch West India Company occupied the city between 1633 and 1654 and called it New Amsterdam (Dutch Nieuw-Amsterdam , Portuguese Nova Amsterdã ). Indigenous resistance to slavery at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century manifested itself in the Confederação dos Cariri and was only put down by the Bandeirantes . The city grew very slowly in the first years of its existence. At the end of the 19th century, however, Natal already had more than 16,000 inhabitants. Because of Natal's strategic location, an American air force base was built in neighboring Parnamirim during World War II . Among other things, this base also served in 1942 for Operation Torch as a stopover for the United States Army Air Forces on the way to North Africa. Later it also served as a civil airport until 2014.

State politics

As the capital of the state of Rio Grande do Norte , Natal is also the seat of the governor, the state parliament ( Portuguese Assembleia Legislativa do Rio Grande do Norte , German legislative assembly of Rio Grande do Norte ) and the administration of the state.

Urban policy and urban structure

Natal City Hall

The executive branch in the city prefecture is located in the Palácio Felipe Camarão . In the local elections in Brazil in 2016 , Carlos Eduardo Alves was elected for the 2017 term. He resigned from the office of mayor because of the candidacy for governor of the state, but on April 6, 2018 Álvaro Costa Dias of the Movimento Democrático Brasileiro (MDB) party took over for the remaining term of office until 2020.

The place is divided into four administrative regions ( Portuguese Regiões administrativas ), which are named after the cardinal points . In everyday parlance they are also referred to as zones ( zonas ). The administrative regions are divided into districts ( Bairros ) and these in turn into residential complexes ( Conjuntos habitacionais ). The Parque das Dunas ("Park of the Dunes") is administered by the state and is not assigned to any administrative region.

The city center is located in the Zona Leste (east). The Zona Oeste is the only one that does not border the sea.

Demographics

In 2010 the population of the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística was given as 803,739 inhabitants. 377,947 men and 425,792 women. For 2019, the IBGE estimates the population to be 884,122. In Greater Natal consisting of Ceará-Mirim , Extremoz , Monte Alegre , Sao Goncalo do Amarante , Macaíba , Parnamirim , São José de Mipibu , Veracruz and Nísia Floresta , are estimated to live (2018) 1587055 people.

Source:

statistics

economy

In the beginning the city lived on salt , sugar cane and beef . An export ban by the Portuguese crown in the middle of the 18th century led to the decline that lasted until Brazilian independence. Frequent droughts did the rest. Today tourism is the most important economic factor alongside the service sector and industrial production.

Worth seeing

Ponta Negra beach with Morro do Careca
Monument to Reis Magos

In the historic center (Cidade Alta) is the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora da Apresentação from 1599, the first church building in the city. The " Fortress of the Magi" Forte dos Reis Magos is located on a headland at Praia do Forte . In Museu do Mar Onofre Lopes can see the marine life of the region. The city beach Artistas is frequented by the residents, tourists mostly find themselves on the beach of Ponta Negra with the 120 meter high dune Morro do Careca , which is 12 km south still in the city area .

The Carnatal festival has been held every December since 1991 .

Surroundings

To the north and south there are both lonely and lively beaches and fishing villages. From north to south these are São Miguel do Gostoso (first Portuguese building in Brazil), Touros (highest lighthouse in Brazil, 62 m), Genipabu (dune landscape), Piranji do Norte ( rocket launch site , largest cashew tree in the world with over 8000 m²), Tibau do Sul (steep coast), Praia da Pipa (very busy) and Baía Formosa (with coastal jungle).

Science and Research

The city is the seat of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). The main campus is located in the Lagoa Nova district ( Zona Leste ). The Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Norte (Federal Institute for Education, Science and Technology, IFRN) and a branch of the Instituto Internacional de Neurociências de Natal , a research institute for neurosciences, are also located here .

traffic

Natal is connected to the national trunk road network via the federal highways BR-101 , BR-226 , BR-304 and BR-406 . Since 2007, the Newton-Navarro Bridge has connected the northern part of the state of Rio Grande do Norte with the city of Natal.

Air traffic

Natal currently has two airports. The older Natal-Severo Airport in Parnamirim is 18 kilometers from the city center and was the main airport in the state. Since 2014, all commercial flights have been handled by the new Natal Airport in São Gonçalo do Amarante , the former airport has been used exclusively for military purposes since then.

Local public transport

Local public transport relies almost exclusively on buses. There are 86 scheduled services operated by six different companies. However, the fare is set uniformly. In addition to the official bus traffic, there are 177 small micro-buses (up to 16 passengers) licensed by the STTU, which travel on 24 less frequented routes.

Two lines of the CBTU connect the city center with Parnamirim and Ceará-Mirim .

safety

With a rate of 102 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, Natal was the most dangerous city in Brazil in 2017 and the fourth most dangerous city in the world.

Town twinning

sons and daughters of the town

literature

  • Luís da Câmara Cascudo: História da cidade do Natal . Editora Civilização Brasileira, Rio de Janeiro, 2nd edition 1980.

Web links

Commons : Natal (Rio Grande do Norte)  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wikivoyage: Natal  Travel Guide

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ SEMPLA, Prefeitura do Natal: Prefeitura Municipal do Natal. In: natal.rn.gov.br. Retrieved July 4, 2019 (Brazilian Portuguese).
  2. ↑ a b c IBGE: Cidades @ Rio Grande do Norte: Natal - Panorama . (Brazilian Portuguese, accessed August 31, 2019).
  3. ^ Prefeitura Municipal do Natal. In: gov.br. www2.natal.rn.gov.br, accessed July 4, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b IBGE : Estimativas da população dos municípios e unidades da Federação Brasileiros com data de referencia em 1 ° de julho de 2018. Retrieved on July 4, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Portaria interministerial Nº 18, de 22 de janeiro de 2013 Áreas territorial (PDF; Portuguese).
  6. ↑ História - Natal. In: www.natal.rn.gov.br. Prefeitura Municipal do Natal, accessed July 4, 2019 (Brazilian Portuguese).
  7. ↑ Localização de Natal / RN
  8. ↑ Tabela 1287 - População dos municípios das capitais e Percentual da população dos municípios das capitais em relação aos das unidades da federação nos Censos Demográficos. Retrieved July 4, 2019 (Censos demográficos do IBGE (1872–2010), SIDRA database).
  9. ↑ IBGE 2000, UNDP 2000, city administration
  10. ↑ site Carnatal (Brazilian Portuguese, accessed on September 4, 2016).
  11. ^ Prefeitura Municipal do Natal Transporte - Ômnibus
  12. ^ Prefeitura Municipal do Natal - Opcionais
  13. ↑ These were the 50 most violent cities in the world in 2017 . In: Business Insider . ( businessinsider.de [accessed April 1, 2018]).
  14. ↑ Bethlehem Twinning Cities (English)