Stone walls
Red sandstone.
The archaeological site of São Nicolau holds the remains of one of the «Seven Peoples», the villages founded by the Jesuits with the Guaraní in the Missions region near the Uruguay River in western Rio Grande do Sul. São Nicolau is the oldest of them, first founded on 3 May 1626, and some historians date the beginning of the state's history to it. Its people abandoned it in 1638 after raids by slave hunters from São Paulo, and it was refounded in 1687 near the original site. It had three thousand inhabitants in its first year and over six thousand by 1710, with large tile-roofed buildings, and its Guaraní were said to be the finest sculptors of the Missions. Its decline began with the Treaty of Madrid in 1750 and the Guaraní War that followed. The site keeps original floors, parts of the outer sandstone walls and column bases, remains of the «cabildo» council house, the cellar and the old drainage system, with walkways and information panels. The town's present square follows the outline of the old village. Nearby are an exhibition room on Guaraní art and houses built with stones from the mission. The site has been national heritage since 1970 and is part of the Missions National Historical Park.
Red sandstone.
The exhibition room.
Since 1626.
Central São Nicolau, Missions region, Rio Grande do Sul
About an hour and a half by car.