Belo Horizonte

Belo Horizonte, capital of the state of Minas Gerais, is the third largest city of Brazil. The city is popularly called Belzonte or BH (“Bey Agá”). Belo Horizonte is a special, modern city: it was designed at the drawing table and it was inaugurated in 1897. This modern city was constructed in the middle of the ancient Minas Gerais and Belo Horizonte can be used as a trampoline to visit historical cities like Ouro Preto, Mariana, Congonhas, São João del Rey, Tiradentes, Diamantina, Serro, Sabará, Santa Luzia and Itabirito.

History
The state of Minas Gerais was formed by colonists who searched for gold and gems. Mariana and Ouro Preto were the first capitals of Minas Gerais. The area of Belo Horizonte was inhabited by colonists since the beginning of the 18th century. João Leite da Silva Ortiz was the first to built a farm here and gradually a little village called Curral del Rey grew around this farm.

Brazil became a republic after the revolution of 1889. The name Curral del Rey (Rey means ‘king’) was no longer acceptable and the name of the village was changed to Belo Horizonte which means ‘beautiful horizon’.

Ouro Preto was no longer able to expand at the end of the 19th century. After many political debates it was decided that a new capital had to be build. Belo Horizonte was chosen because of its climate and topography. The engineer Aarão Reis designed this new city which was inaugurated on December, 12 1897 and the city was renamed as Cidade de Minas (‘Minas Gerais City’). Because this name was hardly used, the official name of the city changed back to Belo Horizonte in 1901.

Belo Horizonte expanded rapidly in the 20th century and new neighbourhoods like Pampulha were constructed. Belo Horizonte developed into an important industrial region.

City
Pampulha

Pampulha (pronounce: “pampoulyah”) is a neighbourhood that was built in the 1940-ties. De governor of Belo Horizonte, Juscelino Kubitschek, invited the architect Oscar Niemeyer to construct an architectonic complex on the banks of the Pampulha Lake. The complex consists of the São Francisco de Assis Church (which is decorated with murals by the famous painter Cândido Portinari), the Museo de Arte, the Casa do Baile and the Iate-Tennis Club (Yaught and Tennis Club). These buildings are a milestone in the development of Brazilian modern architecture.

The zoo of Belo Horizonte is also located in the Pampulhas district.

Praça da Liberdade
The Praça da Liberdade is a beautiful square with a small park. The square was designed as a centre of power and around the square are several 19th century governmental buildings. The art deco-styled Palacio Cristo Rei was built in the 1940-ties. Modern architecture buildings, including a building of the famous Oscar Niemeyer, were added after 1960.

Mangabeiras
Mangabeiras is a neighbourhood located in the south of Belo Horizonte. After a visit of the Pope, the Israel Pinheiro Square was renamed Praça da Papa (the Pope Square). As Mangabeiras is an elevated district, this square overlooks the city. The first thing the pope said on this square was “Que Belo Horizonte!” ('what a beautiful horizon').

Near this square are the park Parque das Mangabeiras and the Rua do Amendoim. The latter is a street where people who are sensitive for it experience an optical illusion: when drivers turn off their cars, they believe that their vehicle is going up the slope, instead of going down.

Museums
Museo de Arte
The Museo de Arte is situated in the Pampulhas district and was originally a casino designed by Oscar Niemeyer. After gambling became illegal in 1957, it became a museum. The collection consists of works by Brazilian artists. The Casa do Baile (meaning ‘dancing house’, referring to its previous function) is used for temporary exhibitions.

Venue : Avenida Otacílio Negrão de Lima, 16.585 - Pampulha

Museu Histórico Abílio Barreto
The Abílio Barreto Historical Museum is housed in a 19th century, colonial-style building that dates from before the construction of Belo Horizonte. The collection consists of art, furniture and ceramics.

Venue : Rua Bernardo Mascarenhas, s/nº - Cidade Jardim
Time : Tuesday - Sunday between 10h and 17h.

Getting in
Fly
Belo Horizonte has two airports:

• Pampulha (officially named Aeroporto Carlos Drummond de Andrade ) is the smaller airport and is situated about 9 km from the city centre. This airport is only used for domestic flights, mainly within Minas Gerais.
• Confins (officially named Aeroporto Internacional Tancredo Neves ) is situated at a distance of 40 km outside the city centre. It can be reached by taxi or by a special bus service called Conexão Aeroporto. Most domestic flights and some international flights use this airport.

Bus
Belo Horizonte is situated at a junction of roads between Brasília, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The city can easily be reached by bus but Brazilian distances are large (6-7 hours to Rio, 10 hours to Brasília). Busses arrive at and depart from the Rodoviária which is situated at the Praça Rio Branco, north of the Avenida Afonso Pena.


The historical cities of Minas Gerais can be reached by bus from Belo Horizonte.

Car
From Brasília: go south along the the BR 040 motorway. From São Paulo: take the BR 381 motorway and from Rio de Janeiro: take the BR 040 motorway in northern direction