2.051.146 (1996)
Time zone GMT -3 hours
Months January April June September
ºC ºC ºC ºC
Highest 28,8 28,8 27,8 32,4
Average 21 20,7 18,2 21,4
Lowest 16 11,2 9,8 10
Under the deep blue sky of Brazil's central plateau, Brasília was built in two thousand days to be the nation's focus of power. Inaugurated by ex-President Juscelino Kubitschek on April 21st, 1960, the Brazilian capital is the best known of the cities that were planned during the 20th century and is a landmark in contemporary town planning and modern architecture. The major players in the history of Brasília were the town planner Lucio Costa, winner of the competition and creator of the Pilot Plan for Brasília and the architect Oscar Niemeyer responsible for the city's main architectural works.
Although it has been in existence for just under forty years, Brasília is the result of long-standing dreams. The Brazilian capital was inspired by the prophecy of a saint: in 1883, Dom João Bosco, a Salesian priest living in Turin, Italy, revealed that a new civilization would emerge in the centre of Brazil, somewhere between the 15th and 20th parallels.
The visitor to Brasília cannot miss visiting the Esplanada dos Ministérios and the Praça dos Três Poderes, location of National Congress (seat of legislative power), the Planalto Palace (head quarters of executive administration) and the Supreme Federal Court (judicial authority). These are often the subject of picture postcards that together with the Alvorada Palace, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Palace of Justice and the Itamaraty Palace, amongst other buildings, have become tourist attractions.
Much more than just a parade of palaces and works of art, Brasília is also a magical discovery because of the beauty of the natural world that surrounds it - the cerrado (scrublands) with its twisted trees, the hidden waterfalls, grottoes, lakes, natural swimming pools, caverns and nature trails that constantly surprise the visitor with their rare species of fauna and flora. A total of 42% of the territory of the Federal District is of environmental protection areas.