Salvador

Bahia is Brazil’s soul, the people say and Salvador it’s capital. The peninsula, on which Salvador is built, was discovered by Amerigo Vespucci on November 1st 1501 and lies in front of the bay “Todos os Santos” (all Saints). With a total of 38 islands it is the largest and and at the same time one of the most beautiful bays in Brazil.

After São Vicente (1532) and Olinda (1537), Salvador was the third city on Brazilian ground. As the first capital of Brazil, from 1549 to 1763, Salvador de Bahia witnessed the blending of European, African and indigenous cultures. It was also, from 1558, the first slave market in the New World.

Slave import, sugar- and later diamond export helped Salvador to become extraordinary rich. Due to it’s ideal location in a secure and natural protected harbor along the main trade routes of the New World, Salvador developed in the 18th century behind Lisbon to the most important city in the Portuguese empire. Only with the decline in sugar export and the beginning of the gold rush in Minas Gerais, Salvador in 1763 was removed by Rio de Janeiro as the countries capital.

The historic center situated on a cliff 70m over sea level preserves many outstanding Renaissance buildings. A special feature of the old town are the brightly colored houses, often decorated with fine stucco-work. The historic center of Salvador de Bahia was declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 1985.

See also: Porto Seguro - Salvador