Brazil Travel Guide: Bauernfest in Petropolis

If you plan to go on a Brazil tour during the last week of June, instead of enjoying a caipirinha, Brazil’s favorite cocktail, you can down a stein of German beer in the colonial town of Petropolis.

Just inland from Rio de Janeiro, and nestled high in the Serra dos Orgãos mountians, Petropolis hosts Bauernfest, a week-long festival to celebrate their German heritage. The borough was colonized in the 1840s by farmers from the German Rhineland.

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Prost! Down a stein of beer at the Bauernfest in Petropolis, Brazil

To get to the Heart of the Carioca, to experience the rich diversity of Rio de Janeiro life, wanderlusts must travel to Petropolis, the summer place of the emperor of Brazil, Dom Pedro II. Now the palace is a museum, whose crowning artifact is the imperial crown – studded with over 600 diamonds and pearls.

Droves of folk dancers in lederhosen will parade down the streets lined with Bavarian clapboard houses and shops, and past the neo-gothic steeple of Cathedral of Saint Peter of Alcântara. Kinder choirs, train rides, and a German film festival will all be on tap for those wanting to capture the zeitgeist of this charming summer resort town.

The opening ceremony is on June 25 with the mayor, his entourage, and the infantry marching out of the Crystal Palace. But the fun begins even before then, on the 19^th, with the election of the festival Queen and Princess.

Throughout the week, celebrants can enjoy sauerkraut, streudal, bratwurst, frankfurter, and other German delicacies, along with plenty of the finest Alpine beer. Plus, the World Cup games will be televised in many a beer garden.