Cerro Largo, Rio Grande do Sul
Cerro Largo is a municipality in the northwestern part of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It occupies an area of 174.64 km² at 28º09'0" south 54º45'0" west, at an elevation of 211 m above sea level. Its population was 15,174 inhabitants.Cerro Largo was settled soon after 1900 mostly by German Brazilians from the old German settlements on the eastern part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the Altkolonie. Portuguese is the official language but Riograndenser Hunsrückisch is still spoken by many citizens in the area. It is the birthplace of São Paulo's current archbishop, Cardinal Odilo Scherer. In 2012 the state chamber of deputies voted unanimously in favor of recognizing this Germanic dialect an official historical culture good to be preserved.
