Niterói

Município de Niterói Nikiti Terra de Araribóia Niterói
Aerial view of Niterói (left) and Rio de Janeiro (right). In the foreground the Rio-Niterói Bridge , in the middle behind the Sugar Loaf
Coordinates	22 ° 53 ′  S , 43 ° 6 ′  W Coordinates: 22 ° 53 ′  S , 43 ° 6 ′  W
Location of the municipality of Niterói in the state of Rio de Janeiro
Symbols
coat of arms flag
founding	November 22, 1573
Basic data
Country	Brazil
State	Rio de Janeiro
Região intermediária	Rio de Janeiro (since 2017)
Região imediata	Rio de Janeiro (since 2017)
Metropolitan area	Metropolitan area of ​​Rio de Janeiro
outline	5 administrative regions, 19 sub-regions, 52 bairros (city districts)
resident	487,562 (2010)
estimate	515,317 (July 1, 2020)
Parish code	IBGE : 3303302
Postal code	24000-000
Time zone	UTC −3
Website	prefeituradeniteroi.org (Brazilian Portuguese)
politics
City Prefect	Rodrigo Neves (2017-2020)
Political party	PV
Culture
Patron saint	John the Baptist
business
GDP	23,003,343  thousand. R $ 46,202  R $ per capita (2016)
HDI	0.837 (2010)

View from Rio de Janeiro to Niterói with the Museu de Arte Contemporânea in the foreground

Ferry pier to Rio de Janeiro in the city center of Niterói

Niterói , officially Portuguese Município de Niterói , is a city in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro . According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 487,562 inhabitants, the population was estimated at 515,317 inhabitants on July 1, 2020, who live in a municipal area of ​​133.757 km² and are called Niteroiens . Niterói is a kind of satellite city of the neighboring city of Rio de Janeiro and belongs to the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro .

story

The city was founded on November 22, 1573 by the Tupí-Indio Araribóia (who later got the name Martim Affonso de Souza). Niterói is the only Brazilian city that was founded by an Indian.

After the war with France over Guanabara Bay, Araribóia requested a piece of land from Governor Mem de Sá , which he called "Banda D'Além" ("land beyond"). His request was granted and the village of São Lourenço dos Índios , Niterói's first name, was born.

In 1819 the village was recognized by the central government and was given the new name of Vila Real da Praia Grande ( royal city of the long beach ). At that time, the place only comprised the area that is now the center of Niterói. The city did not grow beyond its former borders until the late 19th century when there was a tram that allowed the expansion of urban space. Industrialization began in the city in the early 20th century.

From 1834 to 1975, when today's state of Rio de Janeiro was divided into two states, namely the state of Rio de Janeiro on the one hand and the federal district on the other, or from 1960 the state of Guanabara with the then capital Rio de Janeiro , Niterói served with an interruption from 1894 to 1903, when the city of Petrópolis was the capital of the state - as the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. On March 15, 1975 the state of Guanabara was merged with the state of Rio de Janeiro and the new capital has been Rio de Janeiro since then.

The city ​​was given the name Niterói on March 6, 1835. The original spelling was Nictheroy , this name from the Tupi language means "hidden water". On this occasion, the place, which until then was officially a village, was raised to the status of a city.

On December 17, 1961, a circus fire broke out in the city . At a performance of the Circus Grande Norte Americano , which was attended by around 2500 people , the big top started to burn and collapsed. There were 323 dead and 500 injured. The investigation later revealed arson by dissatisfied circus workers. At first, an electrical short circuit was also suspected. This catastrophe has been hushed up in Niterói to this day.

The city is only about 5 km as the crow flies from Rio de Janeiro and is connected to it by the Rio-Niterói Bridge and by ferries. Today Niterói is one of the Brazilian cities with the best quality of life. The city's landmark is the Museu de Arte Contemporânea (MAC), a museum for contemporary art designed by the architect Oscar Niemeyer . It is the third largest city in the state in terms of tourist numbers.

City administration

The mayors (intendents and prefectors) were appointed from 1904 to 1948, the first elected city prefect was José Inácio da Rocha Werneck from 1948 to 1950. After the local elections in 2016, the executive for the 2017 to 2020 term of office lies with the local and state politician Rodrigo Neves . The legislature lies with a city council, the Câmara Municipal, made up of 25 city councilors (vereadores) with the president Paulo Roberto de Mattos Bagueira Leal.

City structure

Niterói is divided into five administrative regions, 19 planning sub-regions and 52 bairros (city districts).

• 

  5 administrative regions

• 

  19 subregions

• 

  52 Bairros

Beaches in Niterói

Promenade on Sao Francisco Beach

• Icaraí
• São Francisco (Saco is out of date)
• Itaipú
• Itacoatiara
• Piratininga

Archdiocese of Niterói

The Archdiocese of Niterói is a Roman Catholic Archdiocese based in Niterói.

Personalities

→ Main article : List of sons and daughters of the city of Niterói

Web links

Commons : Niterói  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• City Prefecture Information Website , Prefeitura Municipal (Brazilian Portuguese)
• City Council website , Câmara Municipal (Brazilian Portuguese)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Niterói - Panorama. In: cidades.ibge.gov.br. IBGE , accessed October 7, 2020 (Brazilian Portuguese). 
2. ^ Dirk Proske: Catalog of Risks: Natural, Technical, Social and Health Risks . Springer Science & Business Media, 2008, ISBN 978-3-540-79555-1 , p. 183 (English, 509 p., Limited preview in Google book search).
3. ↑ Wolfgang Kunath: Circus catastrophe: The brand. In: fr.de. Frankfurter Rundschau , January 10, 2012, accessed on March 12, 2018 . 
4. ^ Rodrigo Neves 43 (Prefeito). In: todapolitica.com. Eleições 2016, accessed August 1, 2019 (Brazilian Portuguese).