Curitiba - City of Brazil

Curitiba is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. The city has the largest population and also the largest economy in Southern Brazil.

One theory about the name "Curitiba" comes from the Tupi words kurí tyba, "many pine" due to the large number of Brazilian Pines in the region prior to its foundation. Curitiba officially became a town in 1812, spelling its name as Curityba. An alternative spelling also came up: Coritiba. This spelling looked to become dominant for it was used in press and state documents, but a state decree in 1919 settled the dispute by spelling the city name Curitiba.

Curitiba hosts the Universidade Federal do Paraná the first in Brazil, was established in Curitiba in 1913, the same year in which electric streetcars were first deployed.

Located in the Southern Brazil, Curitiba is a somewhat humid city in a Subtropical zone. It is located in a plateau and the flat terrain with flooded areas contribute to its mild and damp winter, with average temperatures of 13 °C in the coldest month, falling slightly below 0 °C , on the coldest days.Heat waves during winter and cold waves during summer are not uncommon, and even within a single day there can be great variation, a typical feature of subtropical climates.

Portuguese is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. But English and Spanish are part of the official high school curriculum.

Federal University of Paraná is a university headquartered in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.

The wood has various features to celebrate and promote the German traditions. There are 38 thousand square meters of native forest, which was part of the old farm from the Schaffer family. The replica of an old wooden church, built in 1933 at the Seminário neighbourhood, with neo-gothich decorative elements, shelters a concert hall called Bach’s Oratorium.

Other attractions are the John and Mary path, which tells the Grimm brothers tale, a children’s library, the Philosophers Tower, a wooden observatory allowing a panoramic view of the city and the Ocean Ridge, and the German Poetry Square, with a reproduction of the Casa Mila façade, a German building from the beginning of the last century, originally located in the city centre. It's closed for remodeling at the present time.


Part of the biggest linear environmental park in the Country, established at the Barigüi river margins, it reminds us of the Indians who used to live there, with the statue of Tindiqüera Chieftain. The Ukrainian Memorial is also there, homage to the immigrants, in a replica of an orthodox church, originally built in inland Paraná State, hosting a pêssankas and icons exhibition.

Homage to the Portuguese-Brazilian bonds, this space is highlighted by a track following a small brook, where one can see drawn on tiles excerpts from famous Portuguese language poets, as well as a tribute to the great Portuguese navigators and their discoveries.

It is one of the emblematic symbols of Curitiba, with tubular structure and transparent ceiling, of great beauty.