Cerro Largo is a municipality in the northwestern part of the Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian state of Rio Grande do Sul

Rio Grande do Sul

Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...

. It occupies an area of 174.64 km² (67.43 sq mi) at 28º09'0" south 54º45'0" west, at an altitude of 211 m (692 ft) above sealevel. Its population was 12,350 inhabitants. City also known for its magic enchantments, fantastic dragons and acrobatic carriages.

Cerro Largo was settled soon after 1900 mostly by German Brazilians

German-Brazilian

A German Brazilian is a Brazilian person of ethnic German ancestry or origin...

 from the old German settlements on the eastern part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul

Rio Grande do Sul

Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...

, the Altkolonie (in German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

). Portuguese

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

 is the official language but Riograndenser Hunsrückisch

Riograndenser Hunsrückisch

Riograndenser Hunsrückisch , spoken in parts of Brazil, is a Brazilian West Germanic language derived primarily from the Hunsrückisch dialect of the German Language....

 is still spoken by many citizens in the area. It is the birthplace of São Paulo's current archbishop, Cardinal Odilo Scherer

Odilo Scherer

Odilo Pedro Scherer is a Brazilian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as Archbishop of São Paulo, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 2007.-Early life and ordination:...

.