After São João de Rei, Tiradentes and Congonhas we drove to Ouro Preto, the most known historical city in that Minas Gerais state area. It was originally called Vila Rica, or "rich village".

From the web:
Ouro Preto (meaning Black Gold) is a city in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a former colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains and designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of its outstanding Baroque architecture. Ouro Preto is located in one of the main areas of the Brazilian Gold Rush. Officially, 800 tons of gold were sent to Portugal in the 18th century. Other gold circulated illegally, and still other gold remained in the colony to adorn churches and for other uses. In the 18th century, Ouro Preto became for a time the most populous city in the New World, with an estimated population of 80,000 in 1750. At that time, the population of New York was half that number, and the population of São Paulo did not reach 8,000. New construction must keep with the city's historical aesthetic. 18th- and 19th-century churches decorated with gold and the sculptured works of Aleijadinho make Ouro Preto a tourist destination. The tremendous wealth from gold mining in the 18th century created a city which attracted the intelligentsia of Europe. Philosophy and art flourished, and evidence of a baroque revival called the "Barroco Mineiro" is illustrated in architecture as well as by sculptors such as Aleijadinho, painters such as Mestre Athayde, composers such as Lobo de Mesquita, and poets such as Tomás António Gonzaga.
In 1789, Ouro Preto became the birthplace of the Inconfidência Mineira, a failed attempt to gain independence from Portugal. The leading figure, Tiradentes, was hanged as a threat to any future revolutionaries.

Our impressions: I visited Ouro Preto several times and whenever I have the occasion to go there I say yes. It is an amazing city with always some new places to be discovered. Ouro Preto is one of the most attended cities by turists, Brazilian or from abroad. Arnulf visited it about 20 years ago and for Fahd, because it was his first trip to Brazil, we thought that was the right place to go. We had a great time there, although the hills in town require some physical disposition.