Barbacena | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Barbacena | |
 Andradas Square | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname: "BQ" | |
 Location inMinas Gerais | |
| Coordinates:21°13′S43°46′W / 21.217°S 43.767°W /-21.217; -43.767 | |
| Country |  Brazil |
| State | Minas Gerais |
| Region | Southeast |
| Intermediate Region | Barbacena |
| Immediate Region | Barbacena |
| Founded | 1791 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Carlos Augusto Soares do Nascimento (MDB) |
| Area | |
• Total | 759.19 km2 (293.12 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,160 m (3,810 ft) |
| Population (2020)[1] | |
• Total | 138,204 |
| • Density | 158/km2 (410/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Barbacenense |
| Time zone | UTC-3 (UTC-3) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-2 (UTC-2) |
| Postal code | 36200 |
| Area code | (+55) 32 |
| HDI (2010) | 0.769 –high[2] |
| Website | www |
Barbacena is amunicipality in thestate ofMinas Gerais,Brazil. As of 2020, the municipality had 138,204 inhabitants. The total area of the municipality is 788 km2 (304 sq mi).
Barbacena is known for its strong Italian influence. The Rodrigo Silva Colonial Nucleus was established in the late 19th century, and the immigration process lasted until the early 20th century. Most of the immigrants came from theVeneto region. Currently, Rodrigo Silva colonial nucleus is part of the territory of the city ofAntônio Carlos (separated from Barbacena in 1948) and of the homonymous neighborhood "Colônia".[3]
It is in the foothills of theSerra da Mantiqueira south of the state capitalBelo Horizonte at an elevation of 1,136 m (3,727 ft), making it one of the ten highest cities in Brazil. Located on the important BR-040 highway (also called Rodovia JK), which linksBrasília toRio de Janeiro, it is 165 km (103 mi) from the state capital and 97 km (60 mi) fromJuiz de Fora.
Barbacena has a humid tropical climate with cool summers due to the elevation. Summer averages are 24 °C (75 °F) and winter averages 13 °C (55 °F). The cool climate and abundant rainfall have made Barbacena a center for flower production — the city is the biggest producer of flowers in Minas Gerais, and is nicknamed "City of Roses". Cattle raising and the dairy industry are quite developed and the city is a big producer of milk products; there are also several small textile factories.
Barbacena is also the home of thePreparatory School of Air Cadets (the sixteenth besthigh school of the country,[4] which belongs to theBrazilian Air Force) and of a Medical School, Faculdade de Medicina de Barbacena (Faculty of Medicine of Barbacena). The city is also famous for theHospital Colônia de Barbacena, a mental hospital founded in 1903, which was known for its abusive treatment of patients.[5] According to sources, 70% of the patients did not have mental illness,[5] and allegedly 60,000 people died in the hospital.[5] It ceased operations in the mid-1980s. It has been compared to aNazi concentration camp.[5]
Barbacena was the birthplace of thehuman rights activist and lawyerHeráclito Fontoura Sobral Pinto. Barbacena is also known for being the hometown of studentIsabel Cristina Mrad Campos,beatified in December 2022 by theCatholic Church.[6]
Barbacena was a station on theEstrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas, a narrow gauge railway.
According to themodern (2017) geographic classification by Brazil's National Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the municipality belongs to theImmediate Geographic Region of Barbacena, in theIntermediate Geographic Region of Barbacena.[7]
Barbacena was founded on 14 August 1791.
In the 19th century, Barbacena was a principal distribution center for the mining districts of Minas Gerais, but this distinction was lost when the railways were extended beyond that point.[8]
Barbacena has onesister city, as designated bySister Cities International:
Burlington, Iowa, USA| Climate data for Barbacena (1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 27.1 (80.8) | 27.7 (81.9) | 26.8 (80.2) | 25.5 (77.9) | 23.3 (73.9) | 22.8 (73.0) | 22.7 (72.9) | 24.0 (75.2) | 24.4 (75.9) | 25.7 (78.3) | 25.7 (78.3) | 26.4 (79.5) | 25.2 (77.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 21.0 (69.8) | 21.1 (70.0) | 20.5 (68.9) | 19.0 (66.2) | 16.8 (62.2) | 15.8 (60.4) | 15.4 (59.7) | 16.5 (61.7) | 17.6 (63.7) | 19.2 (66.6) | 19.6 (67.3) | 20.4 (68.7) | 18.6 (65.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 16.8 (62.2) | 16.6 (61.9) | 16.3 (61.3) | 14.7 (58.5) | 12.2 (54.0) | 10.6 (51.1) | 10.2 (50.4) | 10.9 (51.6) | 12.7 (54.9) | 14.5 (58.1) | 15.6 (60.1) | 16.4 (61.5) | 14.0 (57.2) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 290.6 (11.44) | 156.0 (6.14) | 178.2 (7.02) | 65.0 (2.56) | 38.8 (1.53) | 17.7 (0.70) | 11.9 (0.47) | 18.5 (0.73) | 76.1 (3.00) | 126.7 (4.99) | 208.8 (8.22) | 269.7 (10.62) | 1,458 (57.40) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 17 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 18 | 107 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 83.0 | 81.9 | 83.9 | 82.8 | 82.3 | 80.0 | 77.4 | 73.7 | 76.3 | 78.6 | 83.2 | 84.4 | 80.6 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 140.4 | 169.2 | 146.8 | 162.4 | 147.4 | 146.2 | 165.7 | 177.5 | 136.5 | 148.9 | 128.8 | 123.9 | 1,793.7 |
| Source: Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia[9] | |||||||||||||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Barbacena".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 380.| International | |
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