Serra Negra 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

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

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 ...

. It belongs to the meso-region of

Campinas Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in São Paulo (state), São Paulo State, part of the country's Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region. According to the 2020 estimate, the city's popul ...

. Population (2020) was 29,452 inhabitants. Total area: 203,5 km², demographic density: 112 inhabitants/km².

Geography

The name of the city means ''black mountain range'' in the

Portuguese language Portuguese ( or ) is a Western Romance language of the Indo-European language family originating from the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is the official language of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tom� ...

. It is located at an altitude of 925 m, in the Serra da Mantiqueira, a mountain range which runs mostly along the border of the state of São Paulo and

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

. It has a mild climate, being also a busy

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

spot, similarly to its close neighbours, the cities of Lindóia and Águas de Lindóia.

History

Serra Negra was founded on 23 September 1828, but at least a century before that the region was already inhabited and was on the passageway between São Paulo and Minas Gerais. It was elevated to the status of city on 21 April 1885. At the end of the 19th century, the region received a large influx of European immigrants, mostly

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

, who came to work on

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

Mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. It is usually still, but may be sparkling ( carbonated/ effervescent). Traditionally, mineral waters were used or consumed at t ...

sources were discovered by Luiz Rielli in 1928 and the city became a much sought-after

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

(it is known as the "City of Health").

Media

In telecommunications, the city was served by

Companhia Telefônica Brasileira Companhia Telefônica Brasileira (CTB) was a Brazilian fixed-line telephone company that provided services to the states of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (state), São Paulo, as well as Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo thr ...

until 1973, when it began to be served by Telecomunicações de São Paulo. In July 1998, this company was acquired by Telefónica, which adopted the Vivo brand in 2012. The company is currently an operator of cell phones, fixed lines, internet (fiber optics/4G) and television (satellite and cable).

Religion

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

is present in the city as follows:

Catholic Church

The Catholic church in the municipality is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Amparo.

Protestant Church

The most diverse evangelical beliefs are present in the city, mainly

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

, including the Assemblies of God in Brazil (the largest evangelical church in the country),

Christian Congregation in Brazil The Christian Congregation in Brazil () was founded in Brazil by the Italian-American missionary Luigi Francescon (1866–1964), as part of the larger Christian Congregation (Pentecostal), Christian Congregation movement. History Louis Frances ...

, among others. These denominations are growing more and more throughout Brazil.

Notable people

In 1962,

war criminal A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

and

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

physician,

Josef Mengele Josef Mengele (; 16 March 19117 February 1979) was a Nazi German (SS) officer and physician during World War II at the Russian front and then at Auschwitz during the Holocaust, often dubbed the "Angel of Death" (). He performed Nazi hum ...

, also known as the Angel of Death purchased a coffee and cattle farm in Serra Negra with 2 of his associates Géza and Gitta Stammer, with Josef owning a half interest.

References

External links

*
Official site
*
SerraNegra.Com
*
hoteisdeserranegra.com.br
Populated places established in 1828 Municipalities in São Paulo (state) {{MesoregionCampinas-geo-stub