A history of Brasília

On April 21, 1960, Brazil woke up to a new capital city. Its name was Brasilia and it was located on the center plateau of the country. The old capital, Rio de Janeiro, on the south-east coast of Brazil, was no longer suitable for the country's needs. The country needed a more centralized capital city for business and industry.

Most cities develop slowly over hundreds or even thousands of years, but Brasília grew from a series of drawings to a complete city in only 41 months! The country's president, Juscelino Kubitschek, was so excited about the city, he officially opened it before it was finished! Brasilia was designed in the shape of an airplane. Its principal architect was Oscar Niemeyer, and its urban planner was Lúcio Costa.

The city's design used four separate principles: there must be a quiet area for homes, a separate zone for business and industry, another area for sports and entertainment, and the movement of pedestrians must be separate from busy roads. Niemeyer and Costa designed the city for about 600,000 government workers. Their homes were in neat apartment blocks next to big green spaces. But of course, things never go completely to plan, and more and more people decided to move there! Soon, Brasília was much bigger than its planners expected.

Today, Brasilia has a population of nearly three million people. It is a wealthy city, with lots of different industries. It is home to Niemeyer's beautiful architecture, particularly the cathedral of Brasília, and the Palácio da Alvorada, the official home of the president. It also has a lively arts scene, and lots of excellent restaurants from around the world. Compared to the likes of London, Paris, and Washington, D.C., Brasilia is very young, and grew incredibly quickly, but it is a real rival for other capital cities around the world.

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