Salvador

Salvador (formerly São Salvador or Bahia), city and port in eastern Brazil, capital of Bahia State, on a peninsula at the entrance to Todos os Santos Bay. Salvador is a major port from which coffee, tobacco, sugar, cotton, industrial diamonds, and petroleum are exported. The principal industries of the city are centred on shipyards, sugar refineries, cotton and flour mills, and tobacco factories. Salvador is built on a steep incline and is divided into the upper and lower towns, connected by lifts, cable cars, and winding roads. It is the site of the Federal University of Bahia (1946). Numerous noteworthy examples of Renaissance architecture have been preserved, including richly decorated, polychrome houses and residences. The historic centre of Salvador was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.

The city was founded by the Portuguese in 1549 as São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos. It was the capital and the seat of the governor-general of the Portuguese territories in Brazil until 1763. Salvador became the capital of Bahia State in 1889. Population 2,892,625 (2007 estimate).