View from the garden to the Museum.
The former summer place in the middle of Petropolis – RJ was buit in the mid-1800’s. Displays include the Brazilian Imperial Crown and Imperial Carriage. The museum is an hour’s drive from Rio de Janeiro’s city center and is one Brazil’s most popular museum with an average of 300.000 per year.
The Palace
Built between 1845-1862 to be a summer residence, the palace is considered the origin of the city named for the emperor and his father, Pedro I. Brazil’s first emperor had been charmed by the region in 1822, not long before he proclaimed Brazil independent. In 1830, he bought the farm where the palace was built.
The palace was designed by German engineer and Brazilian Army Major Júlio Frederico Koeler and followed through by architects Joaquim Cândido Guilhobel and José Maria Jacinto Rebelo after his death. Some of the outstanding features of the neoclassical building are the vestibule floor in Carrara marble and black marble from Belgium, floors and door frames made of noble woods such as jacaranda and rosewood.
The gardens were designed by Jean Baptiste Binot, under the emperor’s personal guidance, with native plants, some of them rare.
The Collection
After Brazil became a republic in 1889, the palace was leased to Colégio Notre Dame de Sion (1892-1908) and to Colégio São Vicente de Paula (1909-1940).
A former Colégio São Vicente de Paula student, Alcindo de Azevedo Sodré, dreamed of turning the palace into a museum and it was thanks to his work and influence that Presidente Getúlio Vargas created the museum by decree in 1940. The museum was opened on March 16, 1943.
The Imperial Museum is decorated with furniture which was used by the imperial family in Petropolis or in Rio de Janeiro. The mahogany table and chairs by F. Léger Jeanselme Père & Fils in the dining room and the jacaranda bed in Portuguese rococo used by Princess Leopoldina, one of the emperor’s daughters, are examples of historic pieces on display.
The most valuable item in the museum, however, is Emperor Pedro II’s crown, made to order for the young monarch – coronated at the age of 15 – by Rio de Janeiro artist Carlos Marin. The crown has been in the museum since 1943.
Other treasures from the Imperial family housed at the museum are Pedro II’s scepter and jewels worn by his wife, Empress Leopoldina.
Sound and Light Show
Every week, the museum hosts a 45-minute sound and light show which reenacts moments of Emperor Pedro II’s reign.
A soundtrack narrated (in Portuguese) by famous Brazilian actor Paulo Autran highlights moments such as a gala ball when sisters Princesses Isabel and Leopoldina met their future husbands. The museum is lighted as if for the gala and, on a water curtain, movie scenes depicting gala scenes are shown.
Hours: Thur-Sat at 8 p.m.
Tickets: R$20. It is recommended that you purchase tickets in advance (at the museum’s ticket office).
Adress: Rua Imperatriz, 200, Petropolis, RJ.
Contact: +55 24 2245-5550
Museum Hours – Tuesday to Sunday – 11am-6pm
Gardens Hours – Tuesday to Sunday – 8am-6pm
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