Ouro Preto
Ouro Preto | |
|---|---|
| Municipality of Ouro Preto | |
| Motto(s): Proetiosum aurum nigrum (Precious black gold) | |
Location in Minas Gerais | |
| Coordinates: 20°23′07″S 43°30′13″W / 20.38528°S 43.50361°W | |
| Country | Brazil |
| State | Minas Gerais |
| Region | Southeast |
| Intermediate Region | Belo Horizonte |
| Immediate Region | Santa Bárbara-Ouro Preto |
| Founded | 8 July 1711 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ângelo Oswaldo de Araújo Santos (PV) |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,245.865 km2 (481.031 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,150 m (3,770 ft) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 74,558 |
| • Density | 60/km2 (150/sq mi) |
| Demonym | ouro-pretano |
| Time zone | UTC−3 (BRT) |
| HDI (2010) | 0.741 – high |
| Website | ouropreto |
| Official name | Historic Town of Ouro Preto |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, iii |
| Designated | 1980 (4th session) |
| Reference no. | 124 |
| Region | South America |
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Ouro Preto (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈo(w)ɾu ˈpɾetu], lit. 'Black Gold'), formerly Vila Rica (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvilɐ ˈʁikɐ], lit. 'Rich Village'), is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The city, a former colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains, was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO due to its Baroque colonial architecture. Ouro Preto used to be the capital of Minas Gerais from 1720 until the foundation of Belo Horizonte in 1897.
The municipality became one of the most populous cities of Latin America, counting on about 40,000 people in 1730, and 80,000 in 1750. At that time, the population of New York was less than half of that number of inhabitants and the population of São Paulo did not surpass 8,000. Officially, 800 tons of gold were sent to Portugal in the eighteenth century, not to mention what was circulated in an illegal manner, nor what remained in the colony, such as gold used in the ornamentation of the churches.
Other historical cities in Minas Gerais are São João del-Rei, Diamantina, Mariana, Tiradentes, Congonhas and Sabará.