Juiz de Fora is a city in the southeast Minas Gerais, Brazil. It had 456,796 inhabitants according to the 2000 census and an area of 1,424 sq km.

Often called only as "JF", this traditional city is located in the Paraíba do Sul basin, on the edge of the Mantiqueira Hills. It grows faster northwards, where are located the industries and roads that connect the city with Belo Horizonte, the state's capital. The city's most remarkable characteristic is the wheather, usually cooler and rainier than the surroundings.

Juiz de Fora is the second most important industrial centre of the state, despite being only the fourth largest city in population, after being the biggest city of the state at the beginning of the 20th century and hold the second position until the 1990's. There are important metallurgic and automotive factories (Mercedes-Benz the most famous one) installed in the city and several textile factories.

The city is also an important comercial center with a considerable influence area. The city has three shopping centres, several hyper-marts and a miriad small shops, selling especially clothes at reasonable prices and attracting customers from two hundred kilometers far.

The massive presence of immigrants - especially from Italy, Germany, Syria and Lebanon - throughout its history gave the city a surprising cosmopolitan spirit and a very diverse cuisine. Walking down its Avenida Rio Branco (a broad and straight avenue several kilometers long) one can find typical German, Italian, Arabic, Portuguese and Indian restaurants, as well as Brazilian typical and vegetarian ones.

Juiz de Fora is an important regional cultural center, being the only town in the south-east Minas Gerais (one of the few in the interior of the state) to have permanently-functional cinemas, theatres, music venues and light entertainment. There is also an important museum (Museu Mariano Procópio ) and a Philharmony Orchestra (Orquestra Filarmônica Pró-Musica). The city also hosts a yearly classical musica festival, the Festival Internacional de Música Brasileira Colonial e Música Antiga (International Festival of Brazilian Colonial Music and Archaic Music). Cultural life is also boosted by a Federal University and several private-owned colleges; making it a common destination for students. Some of the courses at the Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora are reputed among the best in Brazil.

Important roads:

• BR-040, linking JF to north-south cities in the middle part of the states of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, such as Belo Horizonte, Congonhas , Conselheiro Lafaiete , Barbacena , Santos Dumont, Sete Lagoas, Três Rios , Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília.
• BR-267, linking JF to east-west cities in the southern part of Minas Gerais, such as Leopoldina , Bicas, Lima Duarte, Bom Jardim de Minas and Caxambu.

Important railroads:

• MRS-Logística.

History

The origins of Juiz de Fora backs to the beginning of the 18th century, when a road called "Caminho Novo" (New Way) was opened to link Rio de Janeiro to Minas Gerais. The region was covered with dense forest (this why it is still called "Zona da Mata", Forest Zone). Although the way was opened in the early 18th century the region was just a uninhabited passageway.

The development of the region would only start after the decline of the gold mineration in the central zone of Minas Gerais. The money until then invested in the mines was now for the coffee plantation, and the region of Zona da Mata was a fertile place to invest. The position of the then-called village of Santo Antônio do Paraibuna was favorable due to the road connection with the country's capital and harbour.

By 1850, the small village was elevated to city. The progress increased with the construction of the modern União e Indústria road in 1861 to replace the Caminho Novo. Five years later the railroad reaches the city and 1889 the first hidroelectric powerplant of Latin America is built in the city.

In the beginning of the 20th century, Juiz de Fora was among the main textile and industrial centers in South America, competing with São Paulo but the city couldn't keep this status for a long time. By the 1940s, the city lost its influence due to the continued grow of Belo Horizonte, the newly-built state capital replacing Ouro Preto since the beginning of the.

It was only after half a century that the city began to grow again.

Famous People From Juiz de Fora

• Bernardo Mascarenhas (captain of industry)
• Itamar Franco (former Brazilian President)
• Murilo Mendes (poet)
• Pedro Nava (writer and journalist)
• Geraldo Majella Agnelo (cardinal and papabile)