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Santo André is a city of the Greater ABC region in south-east Greater São Paulo, Brazil, famous for Paranapiacaba, the English-built railway village in the Serra do Mar. Its top sights are Paranapiacaba with its station clock, Castelinho and funicular museum, the Museu de Santo André and the Parque Celso Daniel.
Its name recalls Santo André da Borda do Campo, the village of João Ramalho made a town on 8 April 1553 and moved to Piratininga in 1560. The modern city grew around São Bernardo station on the São Paulo Railway, opened on 16 February 1867, and became the seat of the municipality in 1938.
In the 20th century Santo André was a metalworking centre of the ABC, where the union movement of the 1970s and 1980s shaped Brazilian politics, and in 2021 it had an estimated 723,889 people. Paranapiacaba, a national heritage site since 2002 and known for its thick fog, draws visitors with forest trails, winter festivals and the Festival do Cambuci.
Paranapiacaba is a railway village in the Serra do Mar within Santo André, born with the São Paulo Railway line of 1867 that carried coffee down to the port of Santos. Its English-style timber houses form an open-air museum, a national heritage site since 2002, known for fog and forest trails.
Castelinho de Paranapiacaba is the hilltop mansion of the railway village in Santo André, built around 1897 as the home of the chief engineer who ran the trains up and down the Serra do Mar. Seen across the village, it was restored by the city with the World Monuments Fund and is now a museum.
Relógio de Paranapiacaba is the station clock of the railway village in Santo André, made by James William Benson of London for the 1898 station, where it stood out in the frequent fog. In 1977 it was moved to a brick tower 35 m high, and it survived the 1981 fire that destroyed the old station.
Igreja Bom Jesus de Paranapiacaba is the Catholic church of the railway village in Santo André, begun as the Capela do Alto da Serra, whose foundation stone was laid on 3 February 1884. Dedicated to Bom Jesus and licensed for Mass that August, it now belongs to the parish of Rio Grande da Serra.
Museu do Funicular in Paranapiacaba, Santo André, displays the fixed winding engines of the funicular that hauled trains up the Serra do Mar, from the fourth level of the first line and the fifth of the second. It also shows railway objects, photos and the records of many former railway workers.
Expresso Turístico is the CPTM heritage train that runs from Luz station in São Paulo to Paranapiacaba in Santo André, as well as to Jundiaí and Mogi das Cruzes, to showcase the history of railways. Vintage diesel locomotives pull 1962 stainless-steel Budd-Mafersa coaches at about 40 km/h.
Antigo Mercado de Paranapiacaba is the old market of the railway village in Santo André, built in 1899 as a general store and later a snack bar. After many years closed, it was restored by the city as a multicultural centre, giving events a charming mountain setting in the heart of the village.
Antiga Capela Protestante is a historic house on Rua da Estação in Paranapiacaba, Santo André, thought to have hosted Anglican services for São Paulo Railway staff in the 19th century. A Presbyterian congregation met there from 1933 to 1998, and today the old chapel is a restaurant.
Museu de Santo André Dr. Octaviano Armando Gaiarsa is the free city museum of Santo André, created by law in 1982 and since 1990 housed in a 1914 school by architect José Van Humbeeck, the first Grupo Escolar of São Bernardo, listed by Condephaat in 2010. It tells the story of the city.
Parque Central de Santo André is a large park in the Paraíso district, on land that belonged to the federal railway and later to the Light power company. It has thousands of trees, herons and other birds, five lakes with fish, walking and cycling paths, a funfair for children and a concert shell.
Parque Celso Daniel is a 64,000 m2 public park in the Jardim district of Santo André and one of the city's main attractions, opened on 12 May 1974 on land once owned by General Electric. Renamed in 2002 after the murdered mayor, it has lakes with fish, walking tracks, playgrounds and courts.
Paço Municipal de Santo André, or Centro Cívico, is the 110,000 m2 civic centre of Santo André, with the city hall, council chamber and courthouse, plus the Nair Lacerda library and the municipal theatre. Designed by Rino Levi's office with landscaping by Burle Marx, it was listed in 2013.
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