Praça Hans Klussmann, Heritage square in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Praça Hans Klussmann, also called Praça dos Bichinhos, is a square on Rua Saboia Lima in the Tijuca neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro. It holds a naïve sculptural ensemble of colourful mortar and iron figures made from the mid-1970s by mathematics professor Paulo de Tarso, who lived on the street. The square lies beside a CEDAE water catchment station and Tijuca National Park.
The square is named after German merchant Hans Klussmann, who donated the land to the community. In the mid-1970s, mathematics professor Paulo de Tarso, a resident of Saboia Lima Street, began building a naïve sculptural ensemble of colored mortar and iron there. The square was revitalized by the city in 2013 and again in August 2020 by volunteers led by English teacher Cássia Dias Stamile.
The square is nicknamed Praça dos Bichinhos (Little Animals Square) after the animal figures among Paulo de Tarso's mortar-and-iron sculptures, which are now listed as heritage of the city of Rio de Janeiro. In August 2020 an English teacher, Cássia Dias Stamile, adopted the square, and dozens of volunteers repainted and replanted it.
The square is accessible daily and sits within easy reach of public transportation options. Visitors can enter from multiple directions and find plenty of room for walking and sitting.
The square's nickname, Praça dos Bichinhos (Little Animals Square), comes from the mortar-and-iron animal figures that mathematics professor Paulo de Tarso began making there in the mid-1970s; the ensemble is now listed as heritage by the city of Rio de Janeiro.
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