Bom Jesus do Matozinho Sanctuary |
It’s not known for sure who the first residents of Congonhas were. Theoretically,
from 1700, the explorers who searched for gold in the region created “Vila Real de Queluz”, today known as the city of Conselheiro Lafaiete,
located 17km away from Congonhas. Some of these adventurers may have gotten a little bit far from the town, trying to find new mining sites,
this way creating “Arraial de Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Congonhas”, in the decade of 1730.
Other stories say that the city surged from a “quilombo” (slave’s refuge) and also
from prospectors who fled from the shortage of the mines and the hunger that hit the city of “Ouro Preto”. In the beginning, the name of the
locality was “Congonhas do Campo” and, since 1938, it passed to be officially called just as “Congonhas”. The origin of the name of the city is
a plant much used for tea that, according to the population, is the cure for many diseases.
When already established in the local, the residents soon started to build churches.
The oldest one is Nossa Senhora do Rosário Church. “Santuário do Bom Jesus de Matosinhos”, one of the symbols of the city and Mankind Heritage,
started to be built in 1757. There were in Congonhas gold mines, like Batateiro mine, in which the nuggets were the size of potatoes. With the
gold shortage, the settlement entered on an economic decline and passed to survive thanks to the churches, which attracted innumerous pilgrims
who paid for food and lodge during the epoch of religious celebrations. This way, many families earned enough income to survive for the rest of
the year.
Until the start of the 20th century, the part of Congonhas at the right bank of
Maranhão River belonged to Ouro Preto, while the districts at the left margin were part of Queluz de Minas. Since 1930, the population finally
unified all districts and, subsequently, emancipated the city, in 1938, moment in which it passed to be called just as Congonhas.
With the end of WW 2nd, Congonhas is finally discovered by companies, which started
to explore iron ore. The city grew up and, actually, the mining companies are the main responsible for the economic growth of the city, besides
tourism. |
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