Sao Leopoldo

São Leopoldo stands in the valley of the Sinos River, north of the Guaíba waters in southern Brazil. A government hemp plantation, the Real Feitoria do Linho Cânhamo, operated there from 1788 before the site was chosen for a new colony. In 1824 the first group of German immigrants arrived and established São Leopoldo. The river connected their settlement with Porto Alegre and the wider lagoon system.

The later city of Porto Alegre lies here.