Juiz de Fora, Estrada Real

Nothing prepared me for the modernity of Juiz de Fora. It is a sprawling city filled with apartment blocks and high-rise buildings. With a population of nearly 600,000, the city is the fourth largest in Minas Gerais. Juiz de Fora is strategically located between the three major commercial cities—Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo—and connects Brasília, the capital of Brazil, with the harbour in Rio.

When it was initially established on the newly opened Caminho Novo, the city languished in its development, but as gold mining declined, investment shifted towards coffee production. Juiz de Fora has very fertile grounds and has greatly benefited from this new industry. The city’s wealth grew further with the arrival of a new railway and the first hydroelectric power plant in Latin America. By the 1890s, Juiz de Fora was the largest urban area in the state.

As coffee production moved towards São Paolo, industrial and textile manufacturing became the new economy, and by the early 20th century, the city was the nation's major centre. However, all this would come to an end when the bulk of the city’s wealth was used to build the state’s capital. By the 21st century, particularly after the 1930s depression, the city was in decline and remained so for the better part of the century. Following Brazil’s economic boom, Juiz de Fora has re-emerged as a major centre, this time in telecommunications, higher education, textile manufacturing, retail, steel mills, and automotive factories such as Mercedes-Benz.