Viana is a town and municipality in the state of Espírito Santo

Espírito Santo

Espírito Santo is one of the states of southeastern Brazil, often referred to by the abbreviation "ES". Its capital is Vitória and the largest city is Vila Velha. The name of the state means literally "holy spirit" after the Holy Ghost of Christianity...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. It is located 18km southwest of Vitória on the road to Minas Gerais

Minas Gerais

Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...

. Its population was 59,458 (2005) and its area is 312 km². Though it is part of the Greater Vitória

Greater Vitória

Greater Vitória is an administrative entity in Brazil made up of the following municipalities: Cariacica, Fundão, Guarapari, Serra, Vitória, Vila Velha, and Viana according to IBGE and it has an area of 2,331.01 km², and 1,627,651 inhabitants ....

 metropolitan area, it still maintains a much more laid-back feeling. Marked by its first church dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Conceição (built on March 22, 1817) atop a little mound in the middle of the town all those who pass it on their way to and from Minas Gerais

Minas Gerais

Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...

 appreciate its imposing landmark. The town also has a railway museum at the railway station inaugurated on 13th of July 1895 by the English. The municipality borders Vitória (E), Cariacica

Cariacica

Cariacica is a town and municipality in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. It is located 10 km northwest of Vitória, the capital of the state. It has a population of 343,100 and forms part of the Greater Vitória metropolitan area.-History:...

 (N), Domingos Martins

Domingos Martins

Domingos Martins is the name of a municipality and its capital in the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo. According to the IBGE census of 2000, the municipality had 30,559 inhabitants, of which 5,820 were urban dwelling...

 (W) and Guarapari

Guarapari

Guarapari is a coastal town on the coast of Espírito Santo, Brazil. It is a part of Greater Vitoria. A municipal capital , it is located 47 km south of Vitória, of the state capital. Its population is 105,116 and its area is 592 km²....

 (S).

History

In 1846, 39 families from North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...

 and Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate

Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....

 (then known as Rheinpreussen in German, or Prússia Renana in Portuguese) arrived at Vitória on the 21st of December to settle what is now Viana, as this was the first allotted land they received from the government. In 1857, though, most of them moved on to found Santa Isabel

Santa Isabel

Santa Isabel is the Spanish and Portuguese name of one of two Roman Catholic saints, Saint Isabel of France and Saint Isabel of Aragon. Various places have been named for either of such persons. These include: Argentina:...

 Colony in the 27th of January 1857.

In the 1890s, Viana was a prosperous colony of mainly Azorean

Azores

The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...

 immigrants. In 1891 Santa Isabel

Santa Isabel

Santa Isabel is the Spanish and Portuguese name of one of two Roman Catholic saints, Saint Isabel of France and Saint Isabel of Aragon. Various places have been named for either of such persons. These include: Argentina:...

 became a municipality independent from Viana in what used to be its mountainous region. In 1961, the city was made the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Viana

Roman Catholic Diocese of Viana

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Viana is a diocese located in the city of Viana, in the Ecclesiastical province of São Luís do Maranhão in Brazil.-History:...

.