Belo Horizonte is the capital of Minas Gerais state, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country. Belo Horizonte — or "Beagá" as it is more familiarly known from the sound of its initials BH in Portuguese — has a population of almost 2.4 million and over 5.3 million in the official metropolitan area. The first settlements in the region occurred in the early 1700s, but the city as it is known today was planned and constructed in the 1890s, in order to replace Ouro Preto as the capital of Minas Gerais. It is nowadays well known for the contrast between contemporary and classical buildings, being in fact the location of many modern Brazilian architectural icons, most notably the Pampulha Church.