It is the third largest municipality in the southern region of Brazil, after the much larger state capitals of Curitiba and Porto Alegre.

In 1843, Francisca married François d'Orléans, Prince de Joinville, son of King Louis-Philippe of France, making him the owner of the lands.

[8] Immigrants from Norway made up a group of men with several professional qualifications, including carpenters, masons, bakers, agriculturalists, and even a veterinarian and physician.

In the first letter home, dated to July 1851, the author explained that "only" four Norwegians were dead so far: Simon Hansen of Helgeland, Lars C. Steensem of Ytterøy, Hans Petter Luttersen of Horten, and Martin Nordby of Larvik.

[11] Joinville is located in the northeast of the state of Santa Catarina, close to the Atlantic coast, and is crossed by the river Cachoeira.

The city contains a port on Babitonga Bay [pt], which leads to the Atlantic Ocean and provides an important route for exporting manufactured products.

[12] In 2006–07 there were public discussions about creating a Baía da Babitonga Wildlife Reserve to manage the mangroves, fishery and aquaculture in the bay.

The city is home to a Catholic bishop, several Lutheran churches (one of the largest communities in Brazil), a Botanical Garden and a Zoo.

The 11 days of presentations attract around 50 thousand people to Centreventos Cau Hansen, making it one of the largest events of its kind in the world.

With a population of over half a million inhabitants and an economy based mainly on industry, Joinville has become the largest city in State of Santa Catarina.

The city is also the center to some of Brazil's largest software companies such as Datasul [pt], Logocenter, Microvix and SoftExpert.

[citation needed] Joinville is also home to numerous large corporations in Brazil such as Tupy, Tigre, Embraco, Döhler, Whirlpool, Wetzel, Busscar, Ciser, Schulz S/A.

Its industrial output is the third-largest in the Southern States of Brazil, after the large main cities of Porto Alegre and Curitiba.

Joinville is also the third most populous city in the southern region of Brazil, after the neighboring state capitals of Curitiba and Porto Alegre.

[citation needed] The neighboring town of Araquari is home to a BMW car manufacturing plant; the headquarters of are in Joinville.

Joinville has specialized clinics mainly in surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry, obstetrics, dentistry, neurology, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, gynecology, urology, endocrinology, orthopedics, nephrology, among others.

For outdoor activities lovers, there are places suitable for practicing any sport, from shooting (German tradition from the Middle Ages, kept until today) to adventure and nautical - the largest and best equipped Yacht Club in Santa Catarina State is in the municipality.

The city also hosts famous teams of basketball, salon (Indoors) football and volleyball, all of them highly recognised in the national leagues.

The team currently plays on the fourth division, the Série D. On 8 December 2013, Joinville made headlines in the sport world when the game between Clube Atlético Paranaense and Vasco da Gama-RJ at Arena Joinville, the main football stadium in town, was interrupted by violent fights between fans.