A royal decree of May 1818, authorized the Canton of Fribourg of Switzerland,[6] to establish a colony of 100 Swiss families in the Morro Queimado Farm, in Cantagalo District, a place with climate and natural characteristics similar to those in their country.

Of similar importance was the relative proximity to Niterói and Rio de Janeiro and the improvement of transport and communication links such as paved roads and telegraph.

Nova Friburgo was affected by the 2011 Brazilian floods on 11 January with mudslides causing at least 820 deaths and more than 200 people to go missing in the biggest natural disaster in the history of Brazil.

Nova Friburgo is known as the national capital of the undergarment industry, due to the vast production and variety of models, and the local brands begin to compete in the international market.

Agriculture is important in the area of olericulture and goat raising, as well as in the production of flowers, of which the municipality is the second largest producer in the country, surmounted only by Holambra, in the state of São Paulo.

[20] The main attractions of the city are: (Source: IBGE) Portuguese, Swiss, German, Italian, Austrian, Spanish, Lebanese, African, Hungarian, Japanese.