Blumenau and the surrounding regions became the home to a large number of German immigrants in the early 19th century, leading to a culture that's distinctly different from the common image of Brazil. After Germans, the second largest ethnic group is Italians.The ''Oktoberfest'' is held every year in (you guessed it) October, and is the world's second largest beer festival. It attracts over one million tourists during the sixteen or seventeen days it's held.In September 2nd, 1850 the German immigrant Bruno Otto Hermann Blumenau settled where is now the city of Blumenau, on the shores of the Itajaí-açu river. He came with other 17 immigrants and intended to developed a farming colony, but due to the rugged terrain, the development of industries became natural to the region.Along the history, the city suffered with many major floods, the latest in 1983 and 1984. After some economic stagnation in the 1990s, the city is now thriving again, becoming also one of the major software developing areas in Brazil. http://wikitravel.org/en/Blumenau