Subindo a serra velha, ou serra da estrela; de Petrópolis-RJ.

The Serra da Estrela mountain range, where Petrópolis is located, was practically unknown to the Portuguese during the first 200 years of colonization, except for some exploratory expeditions to claim land grants*. To reach the place where the city arose, it was necessary to overcome the enormous mountain wall of more than 1000 meters in height, in addition to confronting the Coroados Indians who inhabited the region. Only when the Paulista explorers discovered gold in Minas Gerais was the Caminho Novo (New Road) opened (early 18th century) to facilitate travel to the mining towns. The road was new because there was another road opened by the explorers themselves, used since the mid-17th century, which was very long, difficult to travel, formed by trails and paths leading to the gold mines. When Petrópolis was founded, 130 years later, there were a large number of farms and some industrial activity between Guanabara Bay and Vila Rica (Minas Gerais), as described by Baron von Langsdorff in the first volume of his diaries, written during an expedition to the interior of Brazil between 1822 and 1829. The founding of the city of Petrópolis is intimately linked to Emperor Pedro I and Father Correia. Since the Emperor stayed overnight at the priest's farm, passing through the Gold Trail that would take him to Minas Gerais, he was enchanted by the exuberance of nature and the mildness of the climate, and expressed a desire to acquire the property for his own use and, in particular, for the treatment of his daughter, Princess Paula Mariana, five years old, who was always very ill and who recovered well when she was there. Pedro I acquired some properties in the region, where he intended to build a Summer Palace, high in the mountains. However, the project did not go ahead due to his abdication from the throne, his return to Portugal, and the death of his father in 1834. Dom Pedro II inherited these lands, which were subject to various leases until Paulo Barbosa da Silva, steward of the Imperial Household, resumed Pedro I's plans. The steward had commissioned the German engineer Júlio Frederico Köeler to build the Estrada Normal da Serra da Estrela (Normal Road of the Serra da Estrela) to allow carriages access to the Fazenda do Córrego Seco (Dry Creek Farm), since the Caminho Novo (New Road) was only for mule trains. Paulo Barbosa and Köeler developed a plan to found what he called the Petrópolis Palace-Settlement, with the donation of land from the Imperial Farm to free colonists who would not only build the new settlement but also be agricultural producers. Thus Petrópolis was born, planned to replace slave labor with free labor. In March 1843, the emperor (then 18 years old) signed Imperial Decree No. 155, which leased the lands of the Córrego Seco Farm to Major Köeler for the founding of the Palace-Settlement of Petrópolis, including the following requirements: creation of the project and construction of the Imperial Palace; urbanization of an Imperial Village with imperial blocks; construction of a church in praise of Saint Peter of Alcântara; construction of a cemetery; collection of imperial taxes from the resident colonists; and expulsion of third parties from illegally occupied lands. In the first half of the 1800s, German immigrants began to arrive, followed by immigrants of other nationalities, who boosted various economic activities, mainly cottage industries producing food and preserves. The settlement emerged in 1845, subordinate to São José do Rio Preto, and a year later, the Parish of Saint Peter of Alcântara was created, linked to the Vila da Estrela. The town was founded in 1846 as São Pedro de Alcântara de Petrópolis and elevated to city status with the name Petrópolis in 1857. Between 1894 and 1902, it served as the capital of the State of Rio de Janeiro. German immigrants played a fundamental role in the construction of the first Brazilian railway, inaugurated by Baron Mauá in 1854, connecting the Port of Mauá to Raiz da Serra, which facilitated access to Petrópolis. Regarding roads, the União Indústria Highway – inaugurated in 1861, connecting Petrópolis to Juiz de Fora (MG) – was also the first built in Brazil. In 1928, the city again distinguished itself as a pioneer by receiving the first paved Brazilian highway – the Washington Luiz Highway – connecting it to Rio de Janeiro.