Green maze
Of cypress.
Samuel Selbach Dries — CC BY 3.0 · Larissa Fraga — CC BY 3.0 · Larissa Fraga — CC BY 3.0 · Larissa Fraga — CC BY 3.0 · Larissa Fraga — CC BY 3.0
The Square of Flowers, also called Praça da República, is the main square of Nova Petrópolis, the Serra Gaúcha mountain town nicknamed the «Garden of the Serra», about 90 kilometres from Porto Alegre on the «Romantic Route» of German immigrant towns. The square is known for its wide flowering gardens and for the adjoining «Green Labyrinth»: a circular maze of paths between cypresses trimmed into hedges, with several routes and one exit, free to enter. Its site is said to have been a small football pitch; in the late 1980s residents suggested turning it into an attraction, and the maze opened in 1989 at the suggestion of a German-born resident. The square also holds the «Rua Coberta» covered street and a monument to the cooperative movement. It lies a short drive from Gramado and pairs with the nearby Aldeia do Imigrante, an open-air museum of the first German settlers.
Of cypress.
Around the square.
Next door.
Central Nova Petrópolis, Rio Grande do Sul
A short drive, so it suits a half-day trip.