Casa de Juscelino Kubitschek

The modest childhood home of the president who built Brasília

Juscelino Kubitschek — president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961 and the man who built Brasília — was born in Diamantina in 1902 and grew up in this small house on Rua São Francisco. The house is now a museum maintained by the JK Foundation, preserving furniture, family photographs, and objects from his boyhood and political career.

The contrast between the modest size of the house and the scale of what Kubitschek achieved makes the museum oddly moving. He left Diamantina for medical school and never returned to live here, but his identification with the town was strong throughout his life. The museum is small and can be visited in under an hour.

things to do museum historic house
A story
Kubitschek grew up in genuine poverty in this small house in Diamantina, where his mother worked as a schoolteacher after his father died when he was three. He went on to study medicine, enter politics, and as president of Brazil (1956–1961) conceive and build an entire new capital city from scratch in five years. When asked years later about his confidence that Brasília could be completed, he is said to have answered: "Anyone who grew up in Diamantina is not afraid of difficulty."

Other places in Things to Do