Praia Grande

📖 History of Praia Grande

Before the Europeans, the valley and the plateau were the territory of the Guarani, Xokleng and Kaingang, who opened the first paths between the coast and the fields above. In the 18th century the first farms appeared, worked by labourers, tenants and enslaved people who came down from the ranches in the mountains. The tropeiros, who drove cattle between the plateau and the coast, named the place 'Praia Grande' after the big banks of rounded stones in its rivers. In the 19th century German and Portuguese settlers arrived from Rio Grande do Sul, and later Italians. Vila Rosa became a trading post on the tropeiros' route and the town grew along the banks of the Mampituba River. In the 1940s the first road to northern Santa Catarina (SC-108) opened. Praia Grande became an independent municipality in 1958: its official founding date is 19 July 1958. A year later, on 17 December 1959, the Aparados da Serra National Park was created to protect Itaimbezinho; in 1972 its boundaries were revised and in 1992 the Serra Geral National Park was created next to it, including Fortaleza and Malacara. In 2021 the ICMBio granted the concession for visits to both parks to Urbia Cânions Verdes, which began charging admission on 1 October that year. In April 2022 Unesco recognised the Geoparque Caminhos dos Cânions do Sul. Ballooning became the town's other trademark, until on 21 June 2025 a balloon carrying 21 people caught fire and fell: eight died. ANAC issued transitional rules from December 2025 and Praia Grande was the first municipality with authorised companies. In 2026 the paving of the Serra do Faxinal (SC-290) is moving forward; the road was closed from April to August and partially reopened.