Blumenau

Hermann Blumenau led a group of German settlers here in 1850 and the colony grew into a textile and industrial city that kept the language in the surrounding valleys for generations. Its Oktoberfest began in 1984 as a response to a catastrophic flood - a way of getting the city back on its feet - and became one of the largest German festivals in the Americas, running through October in a purpose-built pavilion complex with parades, brass bands, litre steins and attendance in the hundreds of thousands. The half-timbered building in the centre is mostly recent and deliberate, though genuine nineteenth-century houses survive, several as museums. Behind the festival is a real craft brewing industry, with a number of breweries around the Itajai valley open for visits.

History

In 1845 the German chemist and pharmacist Hermann Blumenau agreed to represent the Society for the Protection of German Emigrants and travelled to Brazil to found new German settlements; after exploring the Itajaí valley with his countryman Ferdinand Hackradt, he returned on 2 September 1850 with the first 17 immigrants and founded the colony. It prospered despite floods and hardship, with land, housing, livestock and seed from the Brazilian government, later arrivals included the biologist Fritz Müller, an early supporter of Darwin, and on 4 February 1880 Blumenau became a municipality of about 13,000 people (Wikipedia, Blumenau).

The main sights

• One of the largest Oktoberfests in the Americas - a month of it, in purpose-built halls.
• A 1850 German colony - the settlement that became a textile city.
• Half-timbered streets - mostly modern, with genuine houses among them.
• Craft breweries - a working industry in the Itajai valley.

When to go

October for Oktoberfest; any time for the breweries. Two days.

What to expect

Most of the historic-looking centre was built recently to a theme. During Oktoberfest the city is full and prices rise sharply. The festival is a large drinking event and behaves like one. Outside October the city is ordinary and industrial.

Nearby

Pomerode is north; Florianopolis is south on the coast.

Key facts