Cariacica is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the state of

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attracti ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, part of the Greater Vitória metropolitan area.

Geography

Cariacica is located 10 km northwest of Vitória, the capital of the state. It has a population of 383,917 (2020) and forms part of the Greater Vitória metropolitan area. The municipality contains the Duas Bocas Biological Reserve, created in 1991 to protect part of the water supply.

History

Before the arrival of the colonists to this area, Tupiniquim Indians made this area their home. The name "Cariacica" comes from their language, meaning "the arrival of white men". Cariacica was created as a district of Vitória on 18 December 1837. Its full name as it was given by the Catholic Church is "Freguesia de São João Batista de Cariacica", after

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

, the patron saint of the town. On 30 December 1890 Cariacica separated fully from the municipality of Vitória, becoming the capital of its own municipality. Since 24 July 1971 Saint John the Baptist's day has been the city's commemorative day.

Colonization

After the initial settlement instigated as a point of contact between the capital Vitória and the interior, between 1829 and 1833 some

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

n families arrived to the area. Population increased much more significantly after 1865, because of the formation of German colonies which headed to Santa Leopoldina and Santa Isabel. In 1837 a group of Portuguese also arrived to establish themselves in the rural district of the municipality.

Sports

Rio Branco Atlético Clube is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in the city. The club is the most successful team of the state, being the club with most Campeonato Capixaba titles. It plays at Estádio Kléber Andrade. Another city's football club is Desportiva Ferroviária.

References

History of Cariacica
{{Authority control Municipalities in Espírito Santo