Praça Tiradentes
The heart of town.
Rosino — CC BY-SA 2.0 · upslon from Belo Horizonte, Brasil — CC BY 2.0 · upslon from Belo Horizonte, Brasil — CC BY 2.0 · upslon from Belo Horizonte, Brasil — CC BY 2.0
Ouro Preto, Black Gold, is a colonial mining town in the mountains of Minas Gerais, the heart of Brazil's gold rush in the 18th century. Its first settlements were united in 1711 as Vila Rica, the Rich Town, which was the capital of the state from 1720 to 1897, and some 800 tonnes of gold were officially shipped from here to Portugal in that century. Its present name comes from the gold coated with a dark layer of iron oxide found here. In 1980 it became the first Brazilian site on the World Heritage List. Its centre has kept its colonial architecture with almost no modern building: steep stone streets climb and drop between the hills, crowned by the towers of gilded baroque churches, among the best known the work of the sculptor Aleijadinho. On Praça Tiradentes, the heart of town, stands the statue of Tiradentes, the leading figure of the Inconfidência Mineira of 1789, the first attempt at independence from Portugal. Today it is a lively university town, its students living in old shared houses called repúblicas. Wear comfortable shoes for the steep slopes, and avoid carnival time unless you enjoy heavy crowds and noise.
The heart of town.
Among the hills.
Aleijadinho's work.
Praça Tiradentes and central Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais
Inconfidência MuseumThe Inconfidência Museum is Ouro Preto's leading museum, in the old government b1 minute walk4.6
Church of São Francisco de AssisThe Church of São Francisco de Assis is one of the best-known buildings of Brazi2 minutes walk4.9
Casa dos Contos MuseumCasa dos Contos, the House of Accounts, is the finest colonial house in Ouro Pre4 minutes walk4.9Because the gold found here was coated with a dark layer of iron oxide; before that the town was called Vila Rica, the Rich Town.