Country Brazil Municipality/City Rio de Janeiro | State Rio de Janeiro (RJ) Zone South Zone | |
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Gávea is an affluent residential neighborhood located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It borders the São Conrado, Rio de Janeiro, Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, Lagoa and Jardim Botânico neighborhoods and is famous for its high concentration of artists and intellectuals. PUC-Rio, one of the most important universities of the Rio de Janeiro state, as well as several schools are located in the neighborhood. Gávea is well known because of the "Baixo Gávea" area, which is considered a Bohemian quarter and which is frequented by the city's youth.
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Map of G%C3%A1vea, Rio de Janeiro - State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The first Europeans to have lived in what would become the neighborhood were the French, who came to extract Brazilwood. On July 16, 1565, the neighbourhood was named Gávea for the first time, by Estácio de Sá.
Etymology
The neighborhood is named Gávea (which means topsail in Portuguese) because of an 852m height peak (Gávea Rock, or Pedra da Gávea) which resembles the topsail of the carrack, a sailing ship.
Sports
The Hipódromo da Gávea is a horse racing venue located in the neighborhood. Estádio da Gávea the home of CR Flamengo football club, despite being named after the neighborhood, is located in the Lagoa neighborhood. Gávea was the site of a street circuit that hosted Grand Prix racing in the 1930s and 1940s.