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Salvador, Bahia. / 12.97472°S 38.47667°W / -12.97472; -38.47667. Salvador [n 1] is a Brazilian municipality and capital city of the state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognized throughout the country and internationally for its cuisine, music, and architecture.
Aug 3, 2012 · Brazil, South America. Salvador da Bahia has an energy and unadorned beauty that few cities can match. Once Portugal's colonial capital, today Salvador is the pulsating heart of the country’s Afro-Brazilian community. Festivals happen frequently, with drum corps pounding out rhythms against the backdrop of historic buildings almost daily.
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- The contemporary city
Salvador, city, major port, and capital (since 1889) of Bahia estado (state), northeastern Brazil. It is the country’s third largest city. Salvador is situated at the southern tip of a picturesque, bluff-formed peninsula that separates Todos os Santos (All Saints) Bay, a deep natural harbour, from the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a hot tropical cli...
One of the country’s oldest cities, Salvador was founded in 1549 as the capital of the Portuguese colony of Brazil by Tomé de Sousa, the first governor-general. As the entrepôt of the thriving sugar trade that developed along the bay shores, the city soon became a tempting prize for pirates and enemies of Portugal. It was captured by Dutch forces in 1624 but was retaken the following year. It remained under Portuguese control for the next two centuries. Salvador was the last Portuguese stronghold during the war for Brazilian independence, holding out until July 1823, when the last Portuguese troops were expelled. A monument commemorating the Brazilian victory is in a plaza in the Campo Grande district.
Salvador was a major centre for the African slave trade in the colonial period. Muslim African slaves in the city staged a widespread revolt there in 1835. Salvador still has one of the largest concentrations of black and mulatto populations in Brazil. Those groups have contributed many of the folkways, costumes, and distinctive foods for which the city is noted.
Imports consist chiefly of manufactured goods, while exports include tobacco, sugar, sisal, hides, castor beans, aluminum, iron ore, and petroleum from the nearby Candeias oil field. Food and tobacco processing, textile, ceramics, and automobile manufacturing, chemical production, metallurgy, woodworking and leatherworking, and shipbuilding and repair are Salvador’s main industries. The port of Salvador is one of the finest in Brazil and includes a yacht harbour. Salvador is well served by domestic and foreign shipping lines and airlines, and there are rail and bus connections with central and southern Brazil. An international airport is located about 12 miles (20 km) northeast of the city centre. Tourism, based on the city’s historic sites and the fine beaches that ring it on three sides, has become a significant component of the economy.
A distinctive feature of Salvador is its division into lower (cidade baixa) and upper (cidade alta) parts. The port, commercial district, and adjoining residential zones lie at the foot of a cliff on a low shelf of land facing west onto the bay, only a few feet above sea level. The principal shopping districts, state and municipal government offices, and leading residential areas are on the upper level, extending northward for several miles and eastward to the Atlantic shore. In addition, most of the city’s historic sights are near the edge of the upper city. The old city centre, the Pelourinho (“Pillory”), was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985. The area underwent considerable restoration work in the 1990s, and many colonial-era buildings were preserved. The upper and lower sections are connected by a few graded winding roads, a funicular railway, and several elevators. The Lacerda elevator, an outstanding landmark, is the chief link, lifting passengers 234 feet (71 metres) between the separate streetcar systems.
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- Igreja NS do Bonfim. This famous 18th-century church, located a few kilometers north of Comércio on the Itapagipe Peninsula, is the source of the fitas (colored ribbons) you…
- Pelourinho. The centerpiece of the Cidade Alta is the Pelourinho, a Unesco-declared World Heritage site of colorful colonial buildings and magnificent churches.
- Museu Náutico da Bahia. This excellent nautical museum in Forte de Santo Antônio da Barra contains relics and displays from the days of Portuguese seafaring, plus exhibits on the…
- Largo do Pelourinho. Picture-perfect Largo do Pelourinho is a sloping, triangle-shaped square, once the site of the pelourinho (whipping post) – one of several nearby…
Historic Centre of Salvador de Bahia. As the first capital of Brazil, from 1549 to 1763, Salvador de Bahia witnessed the blending of European, African and Amerindian cultures. It was also, from 1558, the first slave market in the New World, with slaves arriving to work on the sugar plantations. The city has managed to preserve many outstanding ...
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By Management. 144,487. Explore Salvador. Brazil's former capital is renowned for its African-influenced cuisine, music and architecture. Known as "the Capital of Joy," because of its exuberant week-long Carnaval celebrations, Salvador brims with contemporary music and art amid architecture that has gone untouched since the 17th century.
From 1549 to 1763, Salvador was the capital of Brazil; 80% of the population of Salvador is black; The first name of Salvador was “São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos; Salvador has appeared in several international video clips, such as: Michael Jackson – They don’t care about us, Paul McCartney – Back In Brazil, Paul Simon ...
