Praça da Liberdade

Praça da Liberdade is a public square and an architectural and landscape ensemble in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is located in the Savassi area, at the junction of Bias Fortes, Brasil, Cristóvão Colombo, and João Pinheiro avenues. The square was laid out between 1895 and 1897 during the construction of Belo Horizonte as the new capital of Minas Gerais. Set on a leveled hill within the city's original planned area, it was conceived as the ceremonial setting for the Palácio da Liberdade and the first state department buildings. Its gardens, avenues, fountains, bandstand, monuments, and surrounding public buildings formed the main government complex of the new capital. Around the square, the original eclectic buildings were later joined by works in other architectural styles. The Cristo Rei Archbishop's Palace introduced an Art Deco presence in the late 1930s; modernist buildings, including the Niemeyer Building and the Luiz de Bessa State Public Library, were added in the mid-20th century; and the postmodern Rainha da Sucata Building added another layer to the ensemble late in the century. The architectural and landscape ensemble was granted state heritage protection by the Instituto Estadual do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico de Minas Gerais in 1977. After the state government moved to the Cidade Administrativa de Minas Gerais in 2010, several former government bui

Square data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).