Pomerode

Pomerode was settled from the 1860s by immigrants from Pomerania, and it holds the highest proportion of German descent of any Brazilian municipality. The distinction from Blumenau matters: here the half-timbering is largely authentic, with several hundred surviving enxaimel houses and barns on a signposted rural route through the valleys, built with the oak-frame technique the settlers brought. East Pomeranian and Hochdeutsch are both co-official languages of the municipality alongside Portuguese, taught in schools and still spoken at home. There is a Lutheran church, a mill museum, a bird park and workshops making pewter and porcelain. The Festa Pomerana each January is the local festival, distinct from Blumenau's October event.

History

Pomerode was founded by immigrants from Pomerania in 1861 and has been called the most typically German of all the German towns of southern Brazil. Most of its people are of German descent and speak both German and Portuguese, and some still speak the East Pomeranian dialect of Low German (Wikipedia, Pomerode).

What to look for

• Genuine enxaimel houses - several hundred oak-framed buildings on a rural route.
• Co-official German - East Pomeranian and Hochdeutsch alongside Portuguese.
• A signposted country circuit - the valleys where the old farms stand.
• The January Festa Pomerana - the town's own festival, not Blumenau's.

When to go

All year; January for the Festa Pomerana. A day.

Things to know

The enxaimel route needs a car and the houses are private homes seen from the road. The town centre is small and can be walked in an hour. Some of the tourist styling is as artificial as Blumenau's, though the rural fabric behind it is real.

Nearby

Blumenau is south; Joinville is north-east.

Key facts