SAO LEOPOLDO

city, eastern Rio Grande do Sul estado (state), Brazil. It lies along the Sinos River at 85 feet (26 m) above sea level, just north of Prto Alegre, the state capital. The first German colony (1824) established in southern Brazil, it was named after Maria Leopoldina, wife of the Brazilian emperor Pedro I, and was elevated to city rank in 1864. So Leopoldo serves an agricultural region producing potatoes, feijo (beans), corn (maize), rice, pigs, and cattle. It is also industrialized, manufacturing leather products, arms and munitions, aluminum ware, and other items. The University of the Sinos River Valley (1969) is there. Transportation is excellent, for the city is on the So PauloPrto Alegre highway and is served by riverboats and a railroad. Pop. (1991 prelim.) 160,228.