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|blank_info = 0.837 – <span style="color:#090">very high</span><ref>{{Cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://www.pnud.org.br/arquivos/ranking-idhm-2010.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233352/http://www.pnud.org.br/arquivos/ranking-idhm-2010.pdf |archive-date=8 July 2014 |access-date=1 August 2013 |publisher=] (UNDP)
}}</ref>
|website = {{URL|niteroi.rj.gov.br}}
|footnotes =
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'''Niterói''' ({{IPA|pt|niteˈɾɔj}}) is a ] in the state of ], in the ] of Brazil. It lies across ], facing the city of ] and forming part of the ].<ref></ref> It was the capital of Rio de Janeiro, as marked by its golden ], from 1834 to 1894 and again from 1903 to 1975. It has an estimated population of 515,317 inhabitants (2020) and an area of {{convert|129.375|km2|abbr=on}}, making it the fifth most populous city in the state. It has the highest ] in the state{{citation needed|date=February 2015}} and the seventh highest among Brazil's municipalities in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|date=3 August 2021|title=IDHM Municípios 2010 {{!}} PNUD Brasil|url=https://www.br.undp.org/content/brazil/pt/home/idh0/rankings/idhm-municipios-2010.html|access-date=2021-08-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803005425/https://www.br.undp.org/content/brazil/pt/home/idh0/rankings/idhm-municipios-2010.html|archive-date=3 August 2021}}</ref> Individually, it is the second municipality with the highest average monthly household income per capita in Brazil<ref> ''Atlas do Desenvolvimento Humano do Brasil''.</ref> and appears in 13th place among the municipalities of the country according to social indicators related to education.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lucas|first=Jorge Alexandre|date=2014|title=Todos os Cariocas: Identidade e Pertencimentos no Mundo Globalizado|publisher=Revista Científica Ciência em Curso|pages=111–123|issn=2317-0077|url=http://www.portaldeperiodicos.unisul.br/index.php/ciencia_curso/article/view/2659|language=fr|access-date=29 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160823194803/http://www.portaldeperiodicos.unisul.br/index.php/ciencia_curso/article/view/2659|archive-date=23 August 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The city has the nicknames of ''Cidade Sorriso'' (Smile City).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1001302128|title=Niterói, cidade sorriso : complemento iconográfico|date=2015|others=Carlos Wehrs, Carlos Supplement to: Wehrs|isbn=978-85-913908-2-3|location=Rio de Janeiro|language=pt-BR|oclc=1001302128}}</ref>
The city was founded on ], ] by a ] ] named ] (who later received the Christian name of Martim Affonso de Souza).
Studies by the ] in June 2011 classified Niterói as the richest city of Brazil, with 55.7% of the population included in class A. Considering the classes A and B, Niterói also appears in the first place, with 85.9% of the population in these classes. According to 2010 data from ], Niterói's nominal gross domestic product was 11.2 billion reais, being the fifth municipality with the highest gross domestic product of the state. The city is the second largest formal employer in the state of Rio de Janeiro, although it occupies the 5th place in terms of the number of inhabitants. The city is one of the main financial, commercial and industrial centers in the state of Rio de Janeiro, being the 12th among the 100 best Brazilian cities to do business.
During the period (] - ]) when Rio de Janeiro was devided in two states: Rio de Janeiro and State of Guanabara (]), where the national capital was, Niterói served as the capital of Rio de Janeiro State (between 1834-1894 and 1903-1975; during the period comprised between 1894 and 1903, the city of ] was the state capital) , which in ] was remerged with the ] (correspondent to the city of Rio de Janeiro).
Niterói was founded on 22 November 1573 by the ] chief ], who later was forcibly converted to Roman Catholicism and was given the Christian name of Martim Afonso, after the Portuguese explorer ], making it the only Brazilian city to have been founded by a non-Christian, non-assimilated ].<ref name="origin">{{cite web | url = http://www.cdp-fan.niteroi.rj.gov.br/niteroi.htm | title = The Niterói Secretary of Culture's official website | access-date = 25 February 2007 | publisher = Niterói City Hall | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070614171215/http://www.cdp-fan.niteroi.rj.gov.br/niteroi.htm | archive-date = 14 June 2007 | url-status = dead }}</ref>
Anciently spelled ''Nichteroy'', the name means "hidden waters" in the ] language and was officially changed to "Niterói" on ], ]. It is within 5km of the Rio de Janeiro city, to which it is linked by the ]. Quality of life in Niterói is one of the best among Brazilian cities. The ], the city's ], was designed by the famous ] ] ] ].
The municipality contains part of the {{convert|2400|ha}} ], created in 1991.<ref>{{citation|language=pt|ref={{harvid|Parque Estadual da Serra da Tiririca – UERJ}}
|title=Parque Estadual da Serra da Tiririca|publisher=UERJ: Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
<!-- Portuguese: Para uma abordagem mais técnica e fiável, sustentada de fontes primárias, ver “Os topônimos indígenas do Rio de Janeiro quinhentista”, de Frederico Edelweiss, na Revista do Instituto Histórico e Geográfico Brasileiro, pp. 80–134 -->
"Niterói" is a term of Tupi origin, with "{{lang|tpn|Nheterõîa|italic=no}}" being its recorded form in the ''{{interlanguage link|Vocabulary in the Brasílica Language|WD=Q116447893|s=1}}'' ({{lang|pt|Vocabulário na língua brasílica}}), a dictionary of the ] compiled at the end of the 16th century. According to {{interlanguage link|Frederico Edelweiss|pt}}, this term would mean "the (bay) all sinuous", through the composition of {{lang|tpn|nhe-}}, a reflexive pronoun, {{lang|tpn|terõ}}, "sinuous" (a term recorded by ] in his {{lang|es|]}}), and {{lang|tpn|îá}}, a particle that indicates a customary trait. Edelweiss reinforces this hypothesis through the poem '']'', which calls Rio de Janeiro a "sinuous port" twice, and he suggests that this designation reveals Tupi influence.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Edelweiss|first=Frederico|date=1967|title=Os topônimos indígenas do Rio de Janeiro quinhentista|trans-title=The indigenous toponyms of 16th-century Rio de Janeiro|journal=]|language=Portuguese|location=Rio de Janeiro|volume=275|pages=114–117|issn=0101-4366}}</ref><!-- Portuguese: Os termos tupis foram atualizados conforme a grafia adotada por Eduardo de Almeida Navarro (acento circunflexo para semivogais, a título de exemplo). -->
] of ] in ], 1 October 1550, about fifty naked men were employed to illustrate life in Brazil and a battle between the ] allies of the French, and the ] Indians.]]}}
In the year 1555, French navigator ] allied himself with the ] who dominated the Guanabara Bay and instituted a French colony in the region, ]. The region was avoided by the Portuguese because of the hostility of the Tupinamba. The region developed under the command of Villegaignon, who planned to build a city in the region. After a while, Calvinists who had emigrated from France to the colony returned to France, where they accused Villegaignon of prejudice against Protestants and of maladministration. The French navigator had to return to France to explain himself.
Following the absence of the French leader, the Portuguese crown began noticing that the ] would make a strategic scale for the Atlantic route of ships from ] to its colonies in Africa and Asia, as well an important advanced bridgehead for the defense of South Brazil. Fortresses were built and an alliance was formed with nearby native ] tribes to defend the settlement against other European invaders. Then, in 1560, the Portuguese leader ] attacked and destroyed the French fort that was located in Guanabara Bay, Coligny Fort, without, however, being able to definitively expel the French from the region. ], Mem de Sá's nephew, who would continue to command the war, enlisted the help of the head of the Temiminos Indians, ], who accepted the governor's request to help the Portuguese expel the French from the Guanabara Bay, in the hope to regain the mother island.
With the end of the war in 1567, Estácio de Sá invoked Arariboia and the ] Indians to occupy the right side of the entrance to the Guanabara Bay, opposite the city of ] founded by Estácio in 1565, as previously requested by Arariboia a tract of land. Thus, the entrance to the bay would be fully protected from intrusion. The place to be occupied by Arariboia was known as "Banda D'Além" (the land beyond), in the eastern side of the bay, from ''River Marui'' to the ''Red Barriers'' between ''Gragoata'' and ''Boa Viagem'' beaches.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cdp-fan.niteroi.rj.gov.br/niteroi.htm |title=Conheça Niterói (Know Niterói) |access-date=25 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614171215/http://www.cdp-fan.niteroi.rj.gov.br/niteroi.htm |archive-date=14 June 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This area corresponded to what is nowadays the northwestern part of the municipality of Niterói, which includes the central and northern zones of its urban area. There, in the "Land Beyond", Arariboia founded the Town of Saint Lawrence of the Indians (in ], ''Vila de São Lourenço dos Índios''), the embryo for the future city of ''Niterói'', a Tupi name that means "Hidden Waters".
===Imperial era===
] area, 1853]]
The village was visited by the ], ], in 1816, who also decreed its emancipation from ] on 10 May 1819 and gave the new-created municipality a new name, ''Vila Real da Praia Grande'' (Royal Town of Great Beach).
In 1834, the city of Rio de Janeiro, capital of the newly established ], was detached from the rest of ]; Vila Real da Praia Grande was then chosen as the new capital of that province, while the city of Rio de Janeiro itself was converted into a '']'', following the ]. Niterói served the function of capital until the year of 1975 – except for the period between 1894 and 1903 when it was temporarily transferred to the city of ].
Vila Real da Praia Grande was officially renamed ''Nictheroy'' (] for "hidden waters") on 6 March 1835. This old spelling persisted until the mid-20th century, when the current spelling–Niterói–was adopted. The capital condition has brought a number of urban developments such as the steam boat, public lighting to whale oil, water supply and new means of transport to connect the city to the interior of the province. Nine years later, the Emperor ] granted the city of Niterói the title of ]. The appointment was given to the most important cities, giving them some autonomy and regional power.
At the end of the 19th century, around 1885, some tram systems were founded, which allowed the expansion of the city to Icaraí, Ponta d'Areia and ] districts.
===Republican era===
]
In 1890, the Brazilian provinces began being called states and the neutral municipality (Rio de Janeiro city) had its status changed to ''Federal District'' (or simply '''DF''', the Portuguese acronym for ''Distrito Federal'').
The monarchist ] in 1893 damaged productive activities and forced the transfer of the capital's headquarters to ]. In 1903, Niterói returned to be the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. This brought about a new impulse to modernize the city with the construction of squares, decks, parks, waterway station and sewage network, as well as widening of the streets and main avenues.
A ] in the city killed 323 people on 17 December 1961; the fire was later found to have been deliberately set by disgruntled circus employees. It is one of the worst tragedies in Brazilian history and the most fatal in the annals of world circus show history.
Following the transference of Brazil's capital to ] in 1960, the city of Rio de Janeiro became a ] named ]. This state was merged with Rio de Janeiro State in 1975; since then, Niterói lost its condition of the state's capital in favor of the ].
On 8 April 2010; the mudslide triggered due to heavy rainfall cost at least 200 lives. At least 11,000 people were forced to flee homes due to further mudslides.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/04/2010491715201125.html |title=Fears Rio mudslide toll could soar – Americas |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=2013-03-26}}</ref>
==Geography==
Niterói has an area of 129,375 square kilometers located between the ] (west), the Atlantic Ocean (south), ] (east) and ] (north).
There are a number of beaches in the area, including Praia de Fora and Praia do Imbuí, with their historical values; Piratininga Beach, Camboinhas Beach, Itaipu Beach and Itacoatiara Beach, the most visited;{{citation needed|date=January 2019}} Praia do Sossego, Praia Adam and Eve and Prainha. It has two saltwater lagoons: Piratininga and Itaipu. The first is linked to the second by means of the Camboatá Canal, opened by the National Department of Sanitation Works in 1946. The Itaipu Lagoon, in turn, connects to the sea through the Itaipu Canal, which was built in 1979.
The relief consists of crystalline terrains, divided into massifs and coastal hills. The massifs predominate in the south and form the mountains of Malheiro, Calaboca and Tiririca, where is the Stone of the Elephant, the highest point of the municipality, 412m high.
The coastal plains are composed of sediments, obviously located near the sea. The most extensive area covers the entire area of Piratininga and Itaipu lagoons.
===Climate===
Niterói has a ], specifically a ], with warm to hot temperatures year round as well as relatively frequent rainfall.
| title = Gráficos Climatológicos (1931–1960 e 1961–1990)
| publisher = Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia
| language = pt
| access-date = 15 November 2018
| url-status = live
}}</ref>
}}
==Politics==
]
In Niterói, executive power is represented by the mayor and cabinet of secretaries, in accordance with the model proposed by the ]. The Organic Law of the Municipality and the current Master Plan, however, prescribe that the public administration should give the population effective tools to exercise participatory democracy. Thus, the city is divided into regional secretariats (although it has already been divided into regional administrations), each headed by a secretary appointed by the mayor.
The legislative power is constituted to the Municipality of Niterói (CMN), composed of 21 elected councilors for mandates of four years (in compliance with the provisions of Article 29 of the Federal Constitution, which governs a minimum and maximum number for municipalities according to with number of inhabitants). It is up to the house to draft and vote fundamental laws to the administration and to the Executive, especially the participative budget (Budgetary Guidelines Law).
The current mayor of Niterói is ] of the ], who was elected in 2020 amidst the ongoing ] in Brazil; he was ex-mayor ]' deputy for the 2012–2016 term and Secretary of Planning during the 2017–2020 term.<ref></ref>
==Economy==
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2023}}
Niteroi is one most important financial and commercial centers in Rio de Janeiro State, like a modern city, with modern buildings and several shopping malls. Its economy is centered on its trading and commerce services, like real-estate corporations, ], ] and publicity.
It also hosts industries of food (especially seafood), clothes, candles, and ].
The city is located 25 minutes away from ]'s downtown region. Niterói boasts the title of fourth richest city in Rio de Janeiro State, and the third in the ].
The ], the city's main landmark, was designed by the famous Brazilian ] architect ]. The landscape of the central urban area of the city is dominated by the Niterói Tower, a tall cylindrical office building belonging to the Niterói Shopping Mall.
===Growth===
By the time of its emancipation, the urban area of Niteroi corresponded to its central zone and São Domingos only. The south zone – Icarai, Santa Rosa, Vital Brazil – began to be urbanized in 1841, when the Santa Rosa farm was divided into estates, while Jurujuba evolved from an old fishermen colony. São Francisco and Charitas, sites named after the Catholic Church built in honor to Saint Francis by the Jurujuba cove, remained sparsely populated until about 1940. As for the northern zone of Niteroi, its urbanization began in the late 19th century, when a ] was inaugurated, allowing the expansion of the city to north and northeast, as well boosting the urban growth of the neighbouring municipality of São Gonçalo.
The realm of Itaipu – a former vast zone of farming lands and forests east of Niteroi – was annexed to the municipality in 1943. It has lost its countryside traits and its urban population has grown fast since the late 1960s.
In the early 20th century, Niteroi started its industrialization boom.
==Demographics==
Niteroi is {{convert|14|km|mi|abbr=on}} distant from Rio de Janeiro City, to which it is linked by the ] and two ferryboat services. According to the 2010 Brazilian Census, the city has a population of 487,320 people, making it the ] and the ]. At the 2010 Census, the population of Niterói grew 9.3% from 2000 to 2010, meaning Niterói had the lowest city population growth in the state of Rio de Janeiro in this period.
The quality of life of the municipality of Niteroi is considered one of the best (third place) among 5,600 other Brazilian municipalities, according to UN indexes (2000 est.).
{|
|+'''Population growth of Niterói'''
! style="background:#efefef;" | Year
! style="background:#efefef;" | Population
|-
| 1950 || style="text-align:right;"| 698,582
|-
| 1970 || style="text-align:right;"| 513,771
|-
| 1990 || style="text-align:right;"| 431,070
|-
| 2000 || style="text-align:right;"| 459,451
|-
| 2010 || style="text-align:right;"| 487,327
|-
| 2022 || style="text-align:right;"| 481,749
|
|}
===Religion===
]
In the city of Niterói there are several manifest religious doctrines. According to the 2010 census, of the total population of Niterói, there were 258,391 ] (53%), 97,759 ] (35%) and 34,484 ] (11%).
According to the division of the Catholic Church in Brazil, Niterói belongs to the Regional Episcopal Council East I of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, and the archiepiscopal seat is in the city of Niterói. The ] comprises 14 municipalities of the region of the capital and the interior of Rio de Janeiro State, forming in total 73 parishes and 1 quasi-parish divided into 6 vicariates. There is also the Jewish community integrated to the Israeli Federation of Rio de Janeiro, it also has the most different Protestant creeds, as well as the practice of ], messianism, ] and others.
==Education==
Niteroi is the seat of the ], one of the most important research centers in Brazil.<ref></ref> It does have other colleges such as ISE La Salle and ].
Catholic schools, mainly ] and São Vicente de Paulo, are the most traditional elementary and high schools of the city. Other important schools are PH, Marília Matoso, Pedro II, Gay Lussac, ], Colégio Nossa Senhora Das Mercês, the ], ETE – Henrique Lage (a.k.a. Faetec), ] and Escola Canadense de Niterói.
Niterói has the highest Human Development Index (HDI) and best level of literacy in ].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.educacaoniteroi.com.br/noticias.php?mostrar=noticiacompleta&id=bf51d16855&cat=principal |title=Fundação Municipal de Educação de Niterói |access-date=10 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211060936/http://www.educacaoniteroi.com.br/noticias.php?mostrar=noticiacompleta&id=bf51d16855&cat=principal |archive-date=11 December 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Transportation==
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2023}}
===Bus===
The urban bus service is the only means of public transportation in the city of Niterói. There are just under fifty active lines, all operated by private companies. Most municipal bus lines have an end point in the center of Niterói (at the João Goulart Bus Terminal), or they pass through the center of Niterói.
===Ferry===
]
The sea crossing between Niterói and the city of Rio de Janeiro is made by two routes, both having as destination the ] Station. The stations, in Niterói, are located in Arariboia Square, in the center and in the ] neighborhood. The crossing between ''Praça Arariboia'' and ''Praça 15 de Novembro'' is done by large boats, with capacity for up to 2,000 passengers, in a journey that lasts about twenty minutes.
Since 2006, the boats have been gradually replaced by large catamarans with a lower capacity (up to 1,200 passengers), but with a shorter crossing time of between 12 and 15 minutes. The crossing between the station of Charitas and that of the ''Praça 15 de Novembro''× is done by small catamarans, being this service considered selective transport.
===Train===
There was a railway extension for passenger transportation, 33 km long, connecting Niterói to the municipality of ], passing through ]. Until its deactivation in 2007 the extension was operated by the state-owned company Central. In the end, there were only two daily trips, one in each direction, using an obsolete train of the 1950s. The line is now deactivated and in several sections, the tracks have been removed by the municipalities of São Gonçalo and Niterói. Since in the future there is the proposal to use the bed of this branch for the implementation of part of the projected ] of the ] between Niterói and Itaboraí.
==Culture==
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2023}}
Niterói is one of the largest historical and cultural centers in Brazil. Its culture is characterized by fishing villages (Jurujuba), forts, museums and futuristic monuments, such as the ], the symbol of the municipality, built by the modernist architect ] and the Popular Theater of Niterói. The social culture is based on a very hospitable population, which resulted in the nickname of Niterói: "city-smile".
The architecture of Niterói is characterized by a contrast between the past and the present. Historic buildings, such as the Niterói State Library, the Justice Palace, the Niterói Post Office Building, the Municipal Theater of Niterói, the Cantareira Station, the Ingá Palace, the Solar do Jambeiro and the Niterói City Hall stand side by side to the side with works of futuristic bond, like, for example, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Square Juscelino Kubitschek. the Popular Theater of Niterói and the rest of the Niemeyer Way. Also known to have the best scout group in Brazil, the 4th GEMAR-Gaviões do Mar.
The Catholic churches also express a lot of niteroiense culture. The São Lourenço dos Índios Church, the foundation of the municipality, the Church of São Sebastião de Itaipu, Nossa Senhora da Boa Viagem, the Church of Saint Peter the Fisherman, the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist and the Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians embellish the streets with their ], classic and ]s.
==Sports==
] in 1956]]
Besides being hometown of stars like ], ] and ], the city is also homeland of the ], which was founded in 1913 and was the only club outside the city of ] to participate in the ] in the 1940s. The club also had its anthem composed by ], composer of the anthems for every participant of the ] due to a radio campaign. The city is not currently represented in the elite of national football.
Other football clubs in the city are the ], which recently announced its return to professional football and the Rio Cricket and Athletic Association, which participated in the first championship in Rio, reaching third place and having the championship set in its stadium. Rio Cricket also participated in (possibly) the first rivalry of Rio de Janeiro's football, with ], a club in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which was founded by Rio Cricket founders and has a ] title.
The city also has the ], which is located in the Santa Rosa neighborhood and has for years been the home of ] and more recently ] in the 2000s. In 2007, the stadium's gymnasium was the stage of the final of the ], that finished with victory of the team of Rio de Janeiro. Nowadays, the stadium is used for training of ] and in games scheduled by the ] – Mostly, in championships of inferior divisions.
==Administrative divisions==
From 1943 to the late 1970s, the county of Niteroi comprised two districts only: the district of Niteroi (original area) and the district of Itaipu (acquired in 1943), which barely had an urban continuity or even proper road links to each other and were considered apart areas. The fractioning of Itaipu's farms into real estates as well its boom after the building of the Rio-Niterói's bridge demanded a better integration between the two sides of the county which led to the improving of the roads and urban facilities and a reformation on the make up of Niteroi's administrative division. The county was reorganised into five districts. In the early 1990s, the ] was altered once again, being the county now divided into twelve administrative, further subdivided into 52 ''bairros'' (neighborhoods) and 5 ''Regiões de Planejamento'' ("Planning Regions"):<ref>https://leismunicipais.com.br/a1/plano-diretor-niteroi-rj Legislação Municipal de Niterói/RJ</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|-
! Praias da Baía
|-
| Bairro de Fátima
|-
| Boa Viagem
|-
| Cachoeiras
|-
| Centro
|-
| Charitas
|-
| Gragoatá
|-
| Icaraí
|-
| Ingá
|-
| Jurujuba
|-
| Morro do Estado
|-
| Pé Pequeno
|-
| Ponta d'Areia
|-
| Santa Rosa
|-
| São Domingos
|-
| São Francisco
|-
| Viradouro
|-
| Vital Brazil
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|-
! Norte
|-
| Baldeador
|-
| Barreto
|-
| Caramujo
|-
| Cubango
|-
| Engenhoca
|-
| Fonseca
|-
| Ilha da Conceição
|-
| Santa Bárbara
|-
| Santana
|-
| São Lourenço
|-
| Tenente Jardim
|-
| Viçoso Jardim
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|-
! Oceânica
|-
| Cafubá
|-
| Camboinhas
|-
| Engenho do Mato
|-
| Itacoatiara
|-
| Itaipu
|-
| Jacaré
|-
| Jardim Imbuí
|-
| Maravista
|-
| Piratininga
|-
| Santo Antônio
|-
| Serra Grande
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|-
! Pendotiba
|-
| Badu
|-
| Cantagalo
|-
| Ititioca
|-
| Largo da Batalha
|-
| Maceió
|-
| Maria Paula
|-
| Matapaca
|-
| Sapê
|-
| Vila Progresso
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|-
! Leste
|-
| Muriqui
|-
| Rio do Ouro
|-
| Várzea das Moças
|}
==Notable people==
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-break}}
*] – ]
*] – TV show host, entertainer
*] – singer
*] – politician
*] – footballer
*] – former Brazilian comedian
*] – former footballer
*] – footballer
*] – triathlete, ] winner
*] – footballer
*] – sailor, Olympic medalist
*] – former Director of Football for ]
*] – sailor, Olympic champion
*] – football player
*] – football player
* ] – Brazilian comedian
{{Col-break}}
*] – comedian, television host, scriptwriter, producer, executive director, actor and lawyer
*] – athlete (sailing), Olympic medallist
*] – sailor, Olympic champion
*] – footballer
*] – singer
*] – actress
*] – singer and actor
*] – ], former ] lightweight champion
*] – Greco-Roman wrestler, Pan American Games medalist
*] – fighter
*] – journalist
*] – singer
*] – physicist
*] – mixed martial artist
*] – sailor, Olympic champion
*] – pharmacist
{{col-end}}
==Gallery==
{{Gallery
|title=
|width=200
|height=120
|align=center
|File:Terminal Rodoviário João Goulart - Vista da parte traseira do prédio.JPG|alt1=|João Goulart Bus Terminal in downtown Niterói
|File:Biblioteca Estadual de Niterói.jpg|alt2=|Niterói State Library
|File:Museu de Arte Contemporânea.jpg|alt3=|]
|File:UFF by Diego Baravelli 02.jpg|alt4=|The Gragoatá campus of the ]
|File:Palacio dos Correios em HDR.jpg|alt5=|Correios Palace
Niterói (Portuguese pronunciation: [niteˈɾɔj]) is a municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro, in the southeast region of Brazil. It lies across Guanabara Bay, facing the city of Rio de Janeiro and forming part of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area. It was the capital of Rio de Janeiro, as marked by its golden mural crown, from 1834 to 1894 and again from 1903 to 1975. It has an estimated population of 515,317 inhabitants (2020) and an area of 129.375 km (49.952 sq mi), making it the fifth most populous city in the state. It has the highest Human Development Index in the state and the seventh highest among Brazil's municipalities in 2010. Individually, it is the second municipality with the highest average monthly household income per capita in Brazil and appears in 13th place among the municipalities of the country according to social indicators related to education. The city has the nicknames of Cidade Sorriso (Smile City).
Studies by the Getulio Vargas Foundation in June 2011 classified Niterói as the richest city of Brazil, with 55.7% of the population included in class A. Considering the classes A and B, Niterói also appears in the first place, with 85.9% of the population in these classes. According to 2010 data from IBGE, Niterói's nominal gross domestic product was 11.2 billion reais, being the fifth municipality with the highest gross domestic product of the state. The city is the second largest formal employer in the state of Rio de Janeiro, although it occupies the 5th place in terms of the number of inhabitants. The city is one of the main financial, commercial and industrial centers in the state of Rio de Janeiro, being the 12th among the 100 best Brazilian cities to do business.
Niterói was founded on 22 November 1573 by the Tupi chief Arariboia, who later was forcibly converted to Roman Catholicism and was given the Christian name of Martim Afonso, after the Portuguese explorer Martim Afonso de Sousa, making it the only Brazilian city to have been founded by a non-Christian, non-assimilated indigenous person.
The municipality contains part of the 2,400 hectares (5,900 acres) Serra da Tiririca State Park, created in 1991.
Toponym
"Niterói" is a term of Tupi origin, with "Nheterõîa" being its recorded form in the Vocabulary in the Brasílica Language [d] (Vocabulário na língua brasílica), a dictionary of the Tupi language compiled at the end of the 16th century. According to Frederico Edelweiss [pt], this term would mean "the (bay) all sinuous", through the composition of nhe-, a reflexive pronoun, terõ, "sinuous" (a term recorded by Antonio Ruiz de Montoya in his Tesoro de la lengua guaraní), and îá, a particle that indicates a customary trait. Edelweiss reinforces this hypothesis through the poem De Gestis Mendi de Saa, which calls Rio de Janeiro a "sinuous port" twice, and he suggests that this designation reveals Tupi influence.
At the royal entry of Henry II in Rouen, 1 October 1550, about fifty naked men were employed to illustrate life in Brazil and a battle between the Tupinambá allies of the French, and the Tabajara Indians.
In the year 1555, French navigator Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon allied himself with the Tupinambas Indians who dominated the Guanabara Bay and instituted a French colony in the region, France Antarctique. The region was avoided by the Portuguese because of the hostility of the Tupinamba. The region developed under the command of Villegaignon, who planned to build a city in the region. After a while, Calvinists who had emigrated from France to the colony returned to France, where they accused Villegaignon of prejudice against Protestants and of maladministration. The French navigator had to return to France to explain himself.
Following the absence of the French leader, the Portuguese crown began noticing that the bay of Rio de Janeiro would make a strategic scale for the Atlantic route of ships from Portugal to its colonies in Africa and Asia, as well an important advanced bridgehead for the defense of South Brazil. Fortresses were built and an alliance was formed with nearby native Tupi-Guaraní tribes to defend the settlement against other European invaders. Then, in 1560, the Portuguese leader Mem de Sá attacked and destroyed the French fort that was located in Guanabara Bay, Coligny Fort, without, however, being able to definitively expel the French from the region. Estácio de Sá, Mem de Sá's nephew, who would continue to command the war, enlisted the help of the head of the Temiminos Indians, Arariboia, who accepted the governor's request to help the Portuguese expel the French from the Guanabara Bay, in the hope to regain the mother island.
With the end of the war in 1567, Estácio de Sá invoked Arariboia and the Temininós Indians to occupy the right side of the entrance to the Guanabara Bay, opposite the city of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro founded by Estácio in 1565, as previously requested by Arariboia a tract of land. Thus, the entrance to the bay would be fully protected from intrusion. The place to be occupied by Arariboia was known as "Banda D'Além" (the land beyond), in the eastern side of the bay, from River Marui to the Red Barriers between Gragoata and Boa Viagem beaches. This area corresponded to what is nowadays the northwestern part of the municipality of Niterói, which includes the central and northern zones of its urban area. There, in the "Land Beyond", Arariboia founded the Town of Saint Lawrence of the Indians (in Portuguese, Vila de São Lourenço dos Índios), the embryo for the future city of Niterói, a Tupi name that means "Hidden Waters".
Imperial era
St. Isabel Maritime Hospital in Jurujuba area, 1853
The village was visited by the King of Brazil, John VI, in 1816, who also decreed its emancipation from Rio de Janeiro on 10 May 1819 and gave the new-created municipality a new name, Vila Real da Praia Grande (Royal Town of Great Beach).
In 1834, the city of Rio de Janeiro, capital of the newly established Empire of Brazil, was detached from the rest of Rio de Janeiro Province; Vila Real da Praia Grande was then chosen as the new capital of that province, while the city of Rio de Janeiro itself was converted into a neutral municipality, following the Ato Adicional. Niterói served the function of capital until the year of 1975 – except for the period between 1894 and 1903 when it was temporarily transferred to the city of Petrópolis.
Vila Real da Praia Grande was officially renamed Nictheroy (Tupi for "hidden waters") on 6 March 1835. This old spelling persisted until the mid-20th century, when the current spelling–Niterói–was adopted. The capital condition has brought a number of urban developments such as the steam boat, public lighting to whale oil, water supply and new means of transport to connect the city to the interior of the province. Nine years later, the Emperor D. Pedro II granted the city of Niterói the title of Imperial City. The appointment was given to the most important cities, giving them some autonomy and regional power.
At the end of the 19th century, around 1885, some tram systems were founded, which allowed the expansion of the city to Icaraí, Ponta d'Areia and Itaipu districts.
Republican era
Alameda São Boaventura in Fonseca area, 1909
In 1890, the Brazilian provinces began being called states and the neutral municipality (Rio de Janeiro city) had its status changed to Federal District (or simply DF, the Portuguese acronym for Distrito Federal).
The monarchist navy revolt in 1893 damaged productive activities and forced the transfer of the capital's headquarters to Petrópolis. In 1903, Niterói returned to be the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. This brought about a new impulse to modernize the city with the construction of squares, decks, parks, waterway station and sewage network, as well as widening of the streets and main avenues.
A circus fire in the city killed 323 people on 17 December 1961; the fire was later found to have been deliberately set by disgruntled circus employees. It is one of the worst tragedies in Brazilian history and the most fatal in the annals of world circus show history.
Following the transference of Brazil's capital to Brasília in 1960, the city of Rio de Janeiro became a city-state named Guanabara. This state was merged with Rio de Janeiro State in 1975; since then, Niterói lost its condition of the state's capital in favor of the city of Rio de Janeiro.
On 8 April 2010; the mudslide triggered due to heavy rainfall cost at least 200 lives. At least 11,000 people were forced to flee homes due to further mudslides.
Geography
Niterói has an area of 129,375 square kilometers located between the Guanabara Bay (west), the Atlantic Ocean (south), Maricá (east) and São Gonçalo (north).
There are a number of beaches in the area, including Praia de Fora and Praia do Imbuí, with their historical values; Piratininga Beach, Camboinhas Beach, Itaipu Beach and Itacoatiara Beach, the most visited; Praia do Sossego, Praia Adam and Eve and Prainha. It has two saltwater lagoons: Piratininga and Itaipu. The first is linked to the second by means of the Camboatá Canal, opened by the National Department of Sanitation Works in 1946. The Itaipu Lagoon, in turn, connects to the sea through the Itaipu Canal, which was built in 1979.
The relief consists of crystalline terrains, divided into massifs and coastal hills. The massifs predominate in the south and form the mountains of Malheiro, Calaboca and Tiririca, where is the Stone of the Elephant, the highest point of the municipality, 412m high.
The coastal plains are composed of sediments, obviously located near the sea. The most extensive area covers the entire area of Piratininga and Itaipu lagoons.
In Niterói, executive power is represented by the mayor and cabinet of secretaries, in accordance with the model proposed by the Federal Constitution. The Organic Law of the Municipality and the current Master Plan, however, prescribe that the public administration should give the population effective tools to exercise participatory democracy. Thus, the city is divided into regional secretariats (although it has already been divided into regional administrations), each headed by a secretary appointed by the mayor.
The legislative power is constituted to the Municipality of Niterói (CMN), composed of 21 elected councilors for mandates of four years (in compliance with the provisions of Article 29 of the Federal Constitution, which governs a minimum and maximum number for municipalities according to with number of inhabitants). It is up to the house to draft and vote fundamental laws to the administration and to the Executive, especially the participative budget (Budgetary Guidelines Law).
Niteroi is one most important financial and commercial centers in Rio de Janeiro State, like a modern city, with modern buildings and several shopping malls. Its economy is centered on its trading and commerce services, like real-estate corporations, graphic design, web design and publicity.
It also hosts industries of food (especially seafood), clothes, candles, and marine objects.
The city is located 25 minutes away from Rio de Janeiro's downtown region. Niterói boasts the title of fourth richest city in Rio de Janeiro State, and the third in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area.
The Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, the city's main landmark, was designed by the famous Brazilian modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer. The landscape of the central urban area of the city is dominated by the Niterói Tower, a tall cylindrical office building belonging to the Niterói Shopping Mall.
Growth
By the time of its emancipation, the urban area of Niteroi corresponded to its central zone and São Domingos only. The south zone – Icarai, Santa Rosa, Vital Brazil – began to be urbanized in 1841, when the Santa Rosa farm was divided into estates, while Jurujuba evolved from an old fishermen colony. São Francisco and Charitas, sites named after the Catholic Church built in honor to Saint Francis by the Jurujuba cove, remained sparsely populated until about 1940. As for the northern zone of Niteroi, its urbanization began in the late 19th century, when a tramway was inaugurated, allowing the expansion of the city to north and northeast, as well boosting the urban growth of the neighbouring municipality of São Gonçalo.
The realm of Itaipu – a former vast zone of farming lands and forests east of Niteroi – was annexed to the municipality in 1943. It has lost its countryside traits and its urban population has grown fast since the late 1960s.
In the early 20th century, Niteroi started its industrialization boom.
Demographics
Niteroi is 14 km (8.7 mi) distant from Rio de Janeiro City, to which it is linked by the Rio–Niterói Bridge and two ferryboat services. According to the 2010 Brazilian Census, the city has a population of 487,320 people, making it the fifth most populous city in the state of Rio de Janeiro and the 39th most populous in the country. At the 2010 Census, the population of Niterói grew 9.3% from 2000 to 2010, meaning Niterói had the lowest city population growth in the state of Rio de Janeiro in this period.
The quality of life of the municipality of Niteroi is considered one of the best (third place) among 5,600 other Brazilian municipalities, according to UN indexes (2000 est.).
Population growth of Niterói
Year
Population
1950
698,582
1970
513,771
1990
431,070
2000
459,451
2010
487,327
2022
481,749
Religion
Catedral de São João
In the city of Niterói there are several manifest religious doctrines. According to the 2010 census, of the total population of Niterói, there were 258,391 Roman Catholic (53%), 97,759 evangelicals (35%) and 34,484 Spiritists (11%).
According to the division of the Catholic Church in Brazil, Niterói belongs to the Regional Episcopal Council East I of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, and the archiepiscopal seat is in the city of Niterói. The Archdiocese of Niterói comprises 14 municipalities of the region of the capital and the interior of Rio de Janeiro State, forming in total 73 parishes and 1 quasi-parish divided into 6 vicariates. There is also the Jewish community integrated to the Israeli Federation of Rio de Janeiro, it also has the most different Protestant creeds, as well as the practice of Buddhism, messianism, Afro-Brazilian religions and others.
Catholic schools, mainly La Salle Institute and São Vicente de Paulo, are the most traditional elementary and high schools of the city. Other important schools are PH, Marília Matoso, Pedro II, Gay Lussac, Instituto Abel, Colégio Nossa Senhora Das Mercês, the Salesian High School, ETE – Henrique Lage (a.k.a. Faetec), Oswaldo Cruz Institute and Escola Canadense de Niterói.
Niterói has the highest Human Development Index (HDI) and best level of literacy in Rio de Janeiro State.
The urban bus service is the only means of public transportation in the city of Niterói. There are just under fifty active lines, all operated by private companies. Most municipal bus lines have an end point in the center of Niterói (at the João Goulart Bus Terminal), or they pass through the center of Niterói.
Ferry
Arariboia ferry station in Niterói
The sea crossing between Niterói and the city of Rio de Janeiro is made by two routes, both having as destination the Praça XV Station. The stations, in Niterói, are located in Arariboia Square, in the center and in the Charitas neighborhood. The crossing between Praça Arariboia and Praça 15 de Novembro is done by large boats, with capacity for up to 2,000 passengers, in a journey that lasts about twenty minutes.
Since 2006, the boats have been gradually replaced by large catamarans with a lower capacity (up to 1,200 passengers), but with a shorter crossing time of between 12 and 15 minutes. The crossing between the station of Charitas and that of the Praça 15 de Novembro× is done by small catamarans, being this service considered selective transport.
Train
There was a railway extension for passenger transportation, 33 km long, connecting Niterói to the municipality of Itaboraí, passing through São Gonçalo. Until its deactivation in 2007 the extension was operated by the state-owned company Central. In the end, there were only two daily trips, one in each direction, using an obsolete train of the 1950s. The line is now deactivated and in several sections, the tracks have been removed by the municipalities of São Gonçalo and Niterói. Since in the future there is the proposal to use the bed of this branch for the implementation of part of the projected Line 3 of the Rio Metro between Niterói and Itaboraí.
Niterói is one of the largest historical and cultural centers in Brazil. Its culture is characterized by fishing villages (Jurujuba), forts, museums and futuristic monuments, such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, the symbol of the municipality, built by the modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer and the Popular Theater of Niterói. The social culture is based on a very hospitable population, which resulted in the nickname of Niterói: "city-smile".
The architecture of Niterói is characterized by a contrast between the past and the present. Historic buildings, such as the Niterói State Library, the Justice Palace, the Niterói Post Office Building, the Municipal Theater of Niterói, the Cantareira Station, the Ingá Palace, the Solar do Jambeiro and the Niterói City Hall stand side by side to the side with works of futuristic bond, like, for example, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Square Juscelino Kubitschek. the Popular Theater of Niterói and the rest of the Niemeyer Way. Also known to have the best scout group in Brazil, the 4th GEMAR-Gaviões do Mar.
The Catholic churches also express a lot of niteroiense culture. The São Lourenço dos Índios Church, the foundation of the municipality, the Church of São Sebastião de Itaipu, Nossa Senhora da Boa Viagem, the Church of Saint Peter the Fisherman, the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist and the Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians embellish the streets with their baroque, classic and colonial architectures.
Other football clubs in the city are the Fonseca Athletic Club, which recently announced its return to professional football and the Rio Cricket and Athletic Association, which participated in the first championship in Rio, reaching third place and having the championship set in its stadium. Rio Cricket also participated in (possibly) the first rivalry of Rio de Janeiro's football, with Paissandu Atlético Clube, a club in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which was founded by Rio Cricket founders and has a Rio de Janeiro Championship title.
The city also has the Caio Martins Stadium, which is located in the Santa Rosa neighborhood and has for years been the home of Canto do Rio and more recently Botafogo in the 2000s. In 2007, the stadium's gymnasium was the stage of the final of the Feminine Superleague of Volleyball, that finished with victory of the team of Rio de Janeiro. Nowadays, the stadium is used for training of Botafogo and in games scheduled by the FFERJ – Mostly, in championships of inferior divisions.
Administrative divisions
From 1943 to the late 1970s, the county of Niteroi comprised two districts only: the district of Niteroi (original area) and the district of Itaipu (acquired in 1943), which barely had an urban continuity or even proper road links to each other and were considered apart areas. The fractioning of Itaipu's farms into real estates as well its boom after the building of the Rio-Niterói's bridge demanded a better integration between the two sides of the county which led to the improving of the roads and urban facilities and a reformation on the make up of Niteroi's administrative division. The county was reorganised into five districts. In the early 1990s, the administrative division of Niterói was altered once again, being the county now divided into twelve administrative, further subdivided into 52 bairros (neighborhoods) and 5 Regiões de Planejamento ("Planning Regions"):
Icaraí Beach
Contemporary Art Museum
Caminho Niemeyer
Itacoatiara Beach
Mocanguê Island and Rio–Niterói Bridge
Santa Cruz da Barra Fortress
Guanabara Bay as seen from Niterói
Flag
Seal
Location in Rio de Janeiro
Brazil
Rio de JaneiroPortuguese Empire 1573–1815
United Kingdom 1815–1822
Empire of Brazil 1822–1889
João Goulart Bus Terminal in downtown Niterói
Niterói State Library
Niterói Contemporary Art Museum
The Gragoatá campus of the Fluminense Federal University
Correios Palace
Arariboia Palace
Night view
Old and new architecture mingle together in Niterói
The neighbourhood of Icaraí
Itacoatiara beach
Santa Cruz Fortress
Fróes cove
Icaraí beach in 1895
View of Rio de Janeiro from Icaraí beach
