Joinville Tourist Attractions

Situation and Characteristics

Joinville, in northern Santa Catarina - 180km/112mi north of Florianópolis and 130km/80mi south of Curitiba - is the most important industrial center in the state, but also attracts tourists with its trim half-timbered houses built by German settlers. It developed out of the Colìnia Dona Francisca, which was established in 1851 on land presented to the Prince de Joinville on the occasion of his marriage to Dona Francisca Carolina, sister of Dom Pedro II. The settlement was established on the initiative of the Colonization Society of Hamburg and was occupied by settlers from Germany, Switzerland and Norway.

Bus station

Rua Paraíba

Sambaqui Museum

One of Joinville's principal attractions (to the east of the city center) is the Sambaqui Archaeological Museum, the richest of its kind in Brazil, with some 12,000 exhibits.

Sao Francisco do Sul, Brazil

São Francisco do Sul

Situation and Characteristics

São Francisco do Sul, founded on the island of São Francisco in 1640 and twenty years later raised to the status of vila, was the first permanent settlement in Santa Catarina. In the 19th century it was the base from which the settlement of Joinville, on the mainland 46km/29mi to the west, was established.

Beaches

Of the town's many beaches the best are the Praias de Ubatuba, da Enseada and de Capri. At the Praia Grande (unsuitable for bathing), on the mainland, there are a number of sambaquis (prehistoric shell-mounds).

Ilhas da Paz

Ilha da Paz

From the Harbor Office (Rua Dr Lauro Miller) boats sail regularly to the Ilha da Paz ("Peace Island"), with a lighthouse. Boats can be hired on the island.

Museu Nacional da Imigração e Colonização

The collections of the National Museum for Immigration and Colonization, housed in the Palácio dos Príncipes, which was built in 1870 for the Prince de Joinville and his wife, include clothing, furniture, vehicles and domestic equipment of the immigrants.

Fritz Alt Museum

The former home of the sculptor Fritz Alt is now a museum displaying his work, in bronze and plaster, his tools and a variety of documents. The house stands on a hill from which there is a view of the whole city.

Príncipe de Joinville

River cruise

Daily at 10 a.m. the steamer "Príncipe de Joinville" leaves a quay in the Bairro Espinheiros for a 5-hour cruise, past numbers of islands and magically beautiful beaches, to São Francisco do Sul.

Cemitério dos Imigrantes

In the Cemitério dos Imigrantes (now protected as a national monument) are the graves of early German settlers.

Museum of Art

The Museum of Art, in a house (1864) which belonged to Ottokar Doerfell, displays pictures, sculpture, prints and drawings.

Rio Comprido

6km/4mi outside the town is the archaeological site of Rio Comprido, with 5000 year old shell-mounds (sambaquis) up to 12m/40ft high.