Novo Hamburgo - Tourism

Tourism

Novo Hamburgo is one of 13 charming cities on the Rota Romântica, a scenic bypass of Brazilian cities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul with heavy Germanic influence. Other cities on the Rota Romântica are São Leopoldo, Estância Velha, Ivoti, Dois Irmãos, Morro Reuter, Santa Maria do Herval, Presidente Lucena, Picada Café, Nova Petrópolis, Gramado, Canela and São Francisco de Paula.

In the historical centre which is located in the Hamburgo Velho neighbourhood, there are still some half-timbered buildings constructed in the same technique, as the Community Schmitt-Presser Museum (first exemplary technique protected by IPHAN in Brazil). There are also the works of the German architect Ernst Seubert, some of his known buildings are the Church of Reis Magos (IECLB), the Church of Our Lady of Mercy, Bakery Reiss ("Padaria Reiss"), Schmitt House ("Casa Rosa") and Municipal Public Library Machado De Assis. Also noteworthy is the neoclassical building of the Ernesto Frederico Scheffel Foundation.

There is a "Historic-Cultural street" called Rua General Osório, along which there are dozens of historic buildings from various periods. Notable buildings along this street are the St. Catherine College, the building of the former Frohsin Society, designed by the German architect Theo Wiederspahn, the homes of the families Richter, Klein, Momberger, Snel, and Grunner, This street is recognized by the City Master Plan as an area of historical and cultural interest.

In the Downtown Area you can see the Monument to the Shoemaker, Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis Gonzaga and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Ascension, both historical constructions of the 1950s. The latter follows the Gothic style, with pure forms of the original Gothic architecture. There are also dozens of eclectic houses distributed among this historical area, but these are not officially recognized. The city also presents some interesting examples of modernism, especially residences built from the period 1950-1960.