Pirenópolis Baroque City Tour

The history of Pirenópolis begins in 1727 when it was founded with the name of meia ponte. The first colonizers were Portuguese who came for the gold easily found in the Rio das Almas. From 1750 to 1800 there was a golden age when four churches were built and Pirenópolis competed with Vila Boa (present day Cidade de Goiás) as the richest town in the province. In 1890 the city changed its name from Meia Ponte to Pirenópolis, the city of the Pireneus, the mountains located nearby. In 1960 with the construction of Brasília there was an intensive exploitation of the famous Pedra de Pirenópolis (quartzite-micáceo). In the 1980s the hippies arrived with their alternative communities and production of handcrafts. Pirenópolis was born again with a huge influx of tourists, especially from Brasília. Churches were restored and all the electrical wiring was put underground.