Treze Tílias, Austrian heritage municipality in Santa Catarina, Brazil.
Treze Tílias is a municipality in the mountains of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil, built with Alpine-style timber frame buildings. The area covers 185 square kilometers at an elevation of 796 meters, surrounded by forests and rolling terrain.
Austrian immigrants from Tyrol and Vorarlberg established this settlement in 1933 as part of a migration program supported by Vienna's government. This organized emigration brought families carrying their alpine heritage and building traditions to southern Brazil.
Residents speak Portuguese alongside southern Austro-Bavarian German in their everyday interactions, keeping their linguistic roots alive. This bilingual practice shapes how people communicate and connect within the community.
The local economy combines agriculture, wood manufacturing, and tourism services, shaping what visitors encounter. The mountainous terrain means winding roads, so allow time for travel and plan visits during dry seasons when access is easiest.
The town belongs to a small group of places worldwide founded intentionally by European emigrants that preserved their architecture to this day. The Laternenumzug festival blends Austrian holiday customs with Brazilian culture in ways you rarely see elsewhere.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
