Santa Leopoldina

History

Santa Leopoldina was founded in 1856 by around 60 Swiss immigrants who came up the Santa Maria River, closely followed in 1857 by roughly 200 immigrants from Germany and Luxembourg. The old extended version of the name, "Cachoeiro de Santa Leopoldina", was given in 1860 by the emperor Pedro II, in honour of his mother Maria Leopoldina, Archduchess of Austria. During the 19th century the town was, for a period, the biggest commercial centre of the state, but its influence declined after the arrival of roads which took traffic away from the river, which was then the town's biggest advantage. Santa Maria River was navigable right through to the Atlantic from this point. The first highway (rodovia) in the state was built between Santa Leopoldina and Santa Teresa and was completed in 1918, which was extended to Vitória in 1924. Cachoeiro de Santa Leopoldina first became a municipality in 1887 and dropped "Cachoeiro de" (Portuguese for waterfall of) from its name in 1943. In 1890 Santa Teresa separated from Santa Leopoldina, and in 1988 Santa Maria de Jetibá also separated, leaving a much smaller area under its power.

Most-observed species

• Saffron Finch

  Sicalis flaveola (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  193
• Sombre Hummingbird

  Eupetomena cirrochloris (Vieillot, 1818) · Aves
  184
• Violet-capped Woodnymph

  Thalurania glaucopis (J.F.Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  181
• Versicolored Emerald

  Chrysuronia versicolor (Vieillot, 1818) · Aves
  170
• Great Kiskadee

  Pitangus sulphuratus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  166
• White-throated Hummingbird

  Leucochloris albicollis (Vieillot, 1818) · Aves
  161
• Black Jacobin

  Florisuga fusca (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  159
• Frilled Coquette

  Lophornis magnificus (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  158