Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Northern Region, Brazil

🇧🇷 Cruzeiro do Sul is a municipality located on the Juruá river in the west of the Brazilian state of Acre. It is the second-largest city in Acre.

It is bordered to the north by the state of Amazonas, to the south by Peru, to the east by the municipality of Porto Walter, to the west by the municipality of Rodrigues Alves, to the north-west by the municipality of Tarauacá, and to the north-west by the municipality of Mâncio Lima.

The municipality contains 23% of the 846,633 hectares (2,092,080 acres) Serra do Divisor National Park, created in 1989.

Economy and buildings The principal economic activity of the municipality is rubber extraction and export, as it was in the majority of the state of Acre. This business attracted many immigrants in the 20th century, including Germans. Of lesser importance is the farming of the commodities of cassava, coffee and rice. The city also operates as a regional trading center.

One of the city's most notable 20th-century structures is the Catedral Nossa Senhora da Glória. The parish was founded in 1915 by Spiritan priests, who established the first church in the Juruá valley. With more settlers, the territory was divided in 1930 and German priests were assigned to this area of the Upper Juruá.

Their influence was shown in the design of the current cathedral, which was begun in 1957; it opened in 1965. Its roof structure is said to be similar to a church in Cologne, Germany. The roof was constructed on site and raised by the workers. In 2015 the parish's centenary was celebrated with an exhibition of historic photographs and related lectures.

Transport The town is served by Cruzeiro do Sul International Airport. The town is about 630 km from Rio Branco by road, through the BR-364.

Geography The urban area of Cruzeiro do Sun has a size of 24.794 square km (9.573 sq mi).