Angra dos Reis
Angra dos Reis on the map of Rio de Janeiro
Angra dos Reis is a city on the southern coast of the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. It is 150 kilometers west of the city of Rio de Janeiro and has a population of approximately 170,000 inhabitants. Angra dos Reis is the largest city of Costa Verde. It is located in the southwestern corner of the state on the Bay of Ilha Grande. It borders Bananal ( SP), Cunha ( SP), Mangaratiba, Paraty, Rio Claro and São José do Barreiro (SP). The Ilha Grande is part of the metropolitan area.
History
The name of Angra dos Reis ( Bay of Kings ) got the city from the Portuguese André Gonçalves, who traveled in the region was the first European on January 6, 1502 Epiphany. About 50 years later, the area of present-day cities of Angra dos Reis, Paraty and Itaguaí, colonized by the Europeans.
→ List of Prefect of Angra dos Reis
Economy and Harbour
The city was then used because of its convenient location as a transit port for immigrants and as an export harbor for the products of the State of São Paulo, v. a coffee.
A step backwards meant for Angra dos Reis, the construction of railroads from Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo and Minas Gerais, because from that time the port was virtually meaningless.
Only when were built in the thirties another railway and a road of Angra dos Reis in the direction of Minas Gerais, won Angra dos Reis its importance as a port for the mining products from Minas back.
Today, the city is characterized by industrialization. Oil tanker lay in the harbor of the city is home to an oil refinery and the only two nuclear power plants in Brazil, Angra 1 and Angra 2 Angra 3 is since 1984 with interruptions under construction and is expected to produce electricity in 2016. In addition, the city still lives on port activities, fishing and fish processing and agriculture.
Of increasing importance for the tourism. From the city center the ferry starts to important for the tourism island of Ilha Grande, which is just over 10 km and belongs to the municipality of Angra.
Attractions in Angra dos Reis
Among the most impressive colonial buildings of the city is the monastery of Nossa Senhora do Carmo 1625 at Praça General Osório, which was built in 1632 Igreja de Santa Luzia in the Rua do Comercio and the former monastery of São Bernardino de Sena, the 1652 to 1659 on the hill Santo Antonio was built. From the hill offers a magnificent view of the entire environment. The parish church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição in the city center and the church of Nossa Senhora da Lapa on the Largo da Lapa are from the years 1750 and 1752.