Castro offers several ways to explore its history: memories of the Tropeiros and the railway sit alongside the story of Dutch immigration, while historic buildings also reveal how the city’s architecture has changed. This range of themes can help you choose what to focus on during your visit: explore the development of Castro and the Campos Gerais, or focus on the cultural history of the Dutch community. The collections and historic sites each offer their own perspective.

Tropeiro Culture and City History

The Museu do Tropeiro is housed in an 18th-century building at Praça Getúlio Vargas No. 11 in central Castro. Its collection commemorates Tropeiro culture, which was fundamental to the historical, economic, and cultural development of Castro and Paraná. It includes sections on Tropeiros, historical documents and objects, sacred art, regional crafts, and other records of Castro’s social and cultural life. The exhibits range from the history of the Tropeiros to religious and craft traditions.

Architecture and Historic Heritage

Casa de Sinhara, also known as Casa Mascarenhas, is one of the oldest buildings in the historic center. Built in the first half of the 19th century, the house shows transitional features between colonial and neoclassical urban architecture and retains much of its original fabric. On January 4, 1982, the state of Paraná listed the building as a historic monument. Casa de Sinhara offers a glimpse of both the history of its construction and the later recognition of its historic value.

Capela de Santo Antônio do Capão Alto was a religious focal point for the local population. Baptisms, weddings, and burials of the region’s first inhabitants took place there. Fazenda Capão Alto adds another dimension to this historical picture: listed as state cultural heritage, it was the Tropeiros’ first stop in Castro and marked the beginning of settlement in the Campos Gerais. The chapel and the fazenda represent different aspects of regional history—religious practices on the one hand, and Tropeiro history and settlement on the other.

Dutch Immigration and Remembrance

The Centro Cultural Castrolanda consists of two buildings: the Memorial da Imigração Holandesa, opened in 2001, and the Museu Histórico de Castrolanda, opened in 2016. Together, they form a complex dedicated to the community’s culture and memory. In the Museu Histórico, furniture and objects donated or loaned by the pioneer families tell the story of their search for a new life in their new home. These objects give a tangible dimension to the families’ history.

The Museu Histórico building also offers a distinctive perspective. It is designed in the Boerderij style, characteristic of traditional farmhouses in the north of the Netherlands, which combine living quarters with a stable or barn. Moinho De Immigrant, also known as Memorial de Imigração, opened in 2001 to honor Dutch immigrants on the 50th anniversary of the colony. The 37-meter-tall monument has a wooden structure built without nails.

Moinho De Immigrant houses a permanent historical exhibition, an event hall, a café-restaurant, a handicrafts shop, and a library. As the operating hours of individual facilities may vary, check in advance which ones will be open during your visit. The Grupo Folclórico Holandês de Castrolanda offers another way to experience Dutch culture, preserving folklore through dance and music. The group was founded in 1953, after the first Dutch families arrived in the Município de Castro. The young people were led by physical education teacher Thilly Kleinsmidt and initially named the dance group “Grupo Holandês em Tamancos.”

Railway and the Rio Iapó

The Estação Ferroviária de Castro opened in December 1899 and is a testament to rail transport for passengers, freight, and goods in the Campos Gerais region. After it was decommissioned by Rede Ferroviária Federal S.A., it was repurposed in 1992 through work carried out by the Castro municipal government. Since then, it has housed activities of the municipal culture department, retaining a public and cultural role. Its history links the railway’s former importance with its later cultural use.

The Rio Iapó adds a geographical perspective to these historical themes: it flows through the city of Castro. The slow-flowing river is also associated with the passage of the Tropeiros. In Castro, the history of routes and transport thus complements the collections, buildings, and places of cultural remembrance, offering different points of interest for a visit focused on city history, architecture, or Dutch immigration.

Discover more destinations: Paranavaí, Jaguariaíva, Dourado, Campo Mourão, Guaraqueçaba, Umuarama, Arapongas, Telêmaco Borba.

View the full travel guide: Paraná.