Place · city

Ouro Preto

Also known as Vila Rica, Vila Rica de Ouro Preto

Ouro Preto, formerly Vila Rica, is a town in the mountains of Minas Gerais, Brazil, founded during the gold rush of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. It was the capital of the Captaincy of Minas Gerais and the centre of the Inconfidência Mineira conspiracy of 1789. Its baroque churches, including works by Aleijadinho, made it a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.

Ouro Preto
Image: Raquel Mendes Silva · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Captaincy of Minas Gerais

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ouro Preto. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ouro-preto
MLA
“Ouro Preto.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ouro-preto. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Ouro Preto.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ouro-preto.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ouro Preto’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ouro-preto (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻