Barbacena
title: "Barbacena" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["barbacena", "1791-establishments-in-brazil", "populated-places-established-in-1791", "municipalities-in-minas-gerais"] topic_path: "geography/brazil" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbacena" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Barbacena |
| settlement_type | Municipality |
| official_name | Municipality of Barbacena |
| nickname | "BQ" |
| image_skyline | Praça dos Andradas com igreja.jpg |
| image_caption | Andradas Square |
| image_flag | Bandeirabarba.png |
| image_seal | Brasaobarbacena.gif |
| image_map | MinasGerais_Municip_Barbacena.svg |
| map_caption | Location in Minas Gerais |
| subdivision_type | Country |
| subdivision_type1 | State |
| subdivision_type2 | Region |
| subdivision_type3 | Intermediate Region |
| subdivision_type4 | Immediate Region |
| subdivision_name | Brazil |
| subdivision_name1 | Minas Gerais |
| subdivision_name2 | Southeast |
| subdivision_name3 | Barbacena |
| subdivision_name4 | Barbacena |
| leader_title | Mayor |
| leader_name | Carlos Augusto Soares do Nascimento |
| leader_party | MDB |
| established_title | Founded |
| established_date | 1791 |
| area_total_km2 | 759.19 |
| population_as_of | 2020 |
| population_footnotes | |
| population_total | 138,204 |
| population_density_km2 | 158 |
| population_demonym | Barbacenense |
| timezone | UTC-3 |
| utc_offset | -3 |
| timezone_DST | UTC-2 |
| utc_offset_DST | -2 |
| coordinates | |
| elevation_m | 1,160 |
| area_code | (+55) 32 |
| postal_code_type | Postal code |
| postal_code | 36200 |
| blank_name | HDI (2010) |
| blank_info | 0.769 – high{{Cite web |
| website | |
| :: |
| name = Barbacena | settlement_type = Municipality | official_name = Municipality of Barbacena | nickname = "BQ" | motto = | image_skyline = Praça dos Andradas com igreja.jpg | image_caption = Andradas Square | imagesize = | image_flag = Bandeirabarba.png | image_seal = Brasaobarbacena.gif | image_map = MinasGerais_Municip_Barbacena.svg | mapsize = | map_caption = Location in Minas Gerais | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_type1 = State | subdivision_type2 = Region | subdivision_type3 = Intermediate Region | subdivision_type4 = Immediate Region | subdivision_name = Brazil | subdivision_name1 = Minas Gerais | subdivision_name2 = Southeast | subdivision_name3 = Barbacena | subdivision_name4 = Barbacena | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Carlos Augusto Soares do Nascimento | leader_party = MDB | established_title = Founded | established_date = 1791 | area_magnitude = | area_total_km2 = 759.19 | area_total_sq_mi = | area_land_km2 = | area_land_sq_mi = | area_water_km2 = | area_water_sq_mi = | area_water_percent = | area_urban_km2 = | area_urban_sq_mi = | area_metro_km2 = | area_metro_sq_mi = | population_as_of = 2020 | population_note = | population_footnotes = | population_total = 138,204 | population_metro = | population_urban = | population_density_km2 = 158 | population_density_sq_mi = | population_demonym = Barbacenense | timezone = UTC-3 | utc_offset = -3 | timezone_DST = UTC-2 | utc_offset_DST = -2 | coordinates = | elevation_m = 1,160 | elevation_ft = | area_code = (+55) 32 | postal_code_type = Postal code | postal_code = 36200 | blank_name = HDI (2010) | blank_info = 0.769 – high{{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=United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) | website = | footnotes =
Barbacena is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. As of 2020, the municipality had 138,204 inhabitants. The total area of the municipality is 788 sqkm.
Barbacena is known for its strong Italian influence. The Rodrigo Silva Colonial Nucleus was established in the late 19th century, and the immigration process lasted until the early 20th century. Most of the immigrants came from the Veneto region. Currently, Rodrigo Silva colonial nucleus is part of the territory of the city of Antônio Carlos (separated from Barbacena in 1948) and of the homonymous neighborhood "Colônia".
It is in the foothills of the Serra da Mantiqueira south of the state capital Belo Horizonte at an elevation of 1,136 m, making it one of the ten highest cities in Brazil. Located on the important BR-040 highway (also called Rodovia JK), which links Brasília to Rio de Janeiro, it is 165 km from the state capital and 97 km from Juiz de Fora.
Barbacena has a humid tropical climate with cool summers due to the elevation. Summer averages are 24 C and winter averages 13 C. The cool climate and abundant rainfall have made Barbacena a center for flower production – the city is the biggest producer of flowers in Minas Gerais, and is nicknamed "City of Roses". Cattle raising and the dairy industry are quite developed and the city is a big producer of milk products; there are also several small textile factories.
Barbacena is also the home of the Preparatory School of Air Cadets (the sixteenth best high school of the country, which belongs to the Brazilian Air Force) and of a Medical School, Faculdade de Medicina de Barbacena (Faculty of Medicine of Barbacena). The city is also famous for the Hospital Colônia de Barbacena, a mental hospital founded in 1903, which was known for its abusive treatment of patients. According to sources, 70% of the patients did not have mental illness, and allegedly 60,000 people died in the hospital. It ceased operations in the mid-1980s. It has been compared to a Nazi concentration camp.
Barbacena was the birthplace of the human rights activist and lawyer Heráclito Fontoura Sobral Pinto. Barbacena is also known for being the hometown of student Isabel Cristina Mrad Campos, beatified in December 2022 by the Catholic Church.
Barbacena was a station on the Estrada de Ferro Oeste de Minas, a narrow gauge railway.
Geography
According to the modern (2017) geographic classification by Brazil's National Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the municipality belongs to the Immediate Geographic Region of Barbacena, in the Intermediate Geographic Region of Barbacena.
History
Barbacena was founded on 14 August 1791.
In the 19th century, Barbacena was a principal distribution center for the mining districts of Minas Gerais, but this distinction was lost when the railways were extended beyond that point.
Sister cities
Barbacena has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International:
- USA Burlington, Iowa, USA
In popular culture
Literature
Climate
|metric first=y |single line=y |collapsed = Y |location = Barbacena (1981–2010 normals, extremes 1961–present) |Jan record high C = 33.8 |Feb record high C = 33.4 |Mar record high C = 32.8 |Apr record high C = 30.8 |May record high C = 29.6 |Jun record high C = 29.2 |Jul record high C = 29.6 |Aug record high C = 32.8 |Sep record high C = 34.1 |Oct record high C = 34.6 |Nov record high C = 34.7 |Dec record high C = 33.0 |Jan record low C = 10.9 |Feb record low C = 10.9 |Mar record low C = 9.9 |Apr record low C = 6.8 |May record low C = 2.9 |Jun record low C = 0.3 |Jul record low C = 1.0 |Aug record low C = 1.8 |Sep record low C = 3.2 |Oct record low C = 5.7 |Nov record low C = 7.1 |Dec record low C = 8.7 |Jan high C = 27.1 |Feb high C = 27.7 |Mar high C = 26.8 |Apr high C = 25.5 |May high C = 23.3 |Jun high C = 22.8 |Jul high C = 22.7 |Aug high C = 24.0 |Sep high C = 24.4 |Oct high C = 25.7 |Nov high C = 25.7 |Dec high C = 26.4 | year high C = 25.2 |Jan mean C = 21.0 |Feb mean C = 21.1 |Mar mean C = 20.5 |Apr mean C = 19.0 |May mean C = 16.8 |Jun mean C = 15.8 |Jul mean C = 15.4 |Aug mean C = 16.5 |Sep mean C = 17.6 |Oct mean C = 19.2 |Nov mean C = 19.6 |Dec mean C = 20.4 | year mean C = 18.6 |Jan low C = 16.8 |Feb low C = 16.6 |Mar low C = 16.3 |Apr low C = 14.7 |May low C = 12.2 |Jun low C = 10.6 |Jul low C = 10.2 |Aug low C = 10.9 |Sep low C = 12.7 |Oct low C = 14.5 |Nov low C = 15.6 |Dec low C = 16.4 | year low C = 14.0 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 290.6 |Feb precipitation mm = 156.0 |Mar precipitation mm = 178.2 |Apr precipitation mm = 65.0 |May precipitation mm = 38.8 |Jun precipitation mm = 17.7 |Jul precipitation mm = 11.9 |Aug precipitation mm = 18.5 |Sep precipitation mm = 76.1 |Oct precipitation mm = 126.7 |Nov precipitation mm = 208.8 |Dec precipitation mm = 269.7 |year precipitation mm = 1458.0 | unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm | Jan precipitation days = 17 | Feb precipitation days = 11 | Mar precipitation days = 13 | Apr precipitation days = 6 | May precipitation days = 4 | Jun precipitation days = 2 | Jul precipitation days = 2 | Aug precipitation days = 3 | Sep precipitation days = 6 | Oct precipitation days = 10 | Nov precipitation days = 15 | Dec precipitation days = 18 | year precipitation days = | Jan humidity = 83.0 | Feb humidity = 81.9 | Mar humidity = 83.9 | Apr humidity = 82.8 | May humidity = 82.3 | Jun humidity = 80.0 | Jul humidity = 77.4 | Aug humidity = 73.7 | Sep humidity = 76.3 | Oct humidity = 78.6 | Nov humidity = 83.2 | Dec humidity = 84.4 | year humidity = 80.6 |Jan sun = 140.4 |Feb sun = 169.2 |Mar sun = 146.8 |Apr sun = 162.4 |May sun = 147.4 |Jun sun = 146.2 |Jul sun = 165.7 |Aug sun = 177.5 |Sep sun = 136.5 |Oct sun = 148.9 |Nov sun = 128.8 |Dec sun = 123.9 |year sun = 1793.7 |source 1 = Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia{{cite web | url = http://www.inmet.gov.br/portal/index.php?r=clima/normaisclimatologicas | title = Normais Climatológicas Do Brasil 1981–2010 | publisher = Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia | language = Portuguese | accessdate = 21 May 2024}}{{cite web | url=https://tempo.inmet.gov.br/GraficosDiarios/A502 | title=Station: Barbacena (A502) | publisher=INMET | access-date=19 July 2025}}
References
References
- [https://cidades.ibge.gov.br/brasil/mg/barbacena/panorama IBGE 2020]
- (2021-08-31). "Imigração italiana em Antônio Carlos e Barbacena: o caso da Colônia Rodrigo Silva".
- UOL Educação. (2008). "Ranking das 20 melhores escolas do Brasil do Enem 2008".
- Daniela Arbex. (2011). "Holocausto Brasileiro: 50 anos sem punição (Brazilian Holocaust: 50 years without punishment)".
- (11 December 2022). "Pope praises heroic example of Blessed Isabel Cristina Mrad Campos". Vatican News.
- "Divisões Regionais do Brasil {{!}} IBGE".
- {{EB1911
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::