Filadelfia () is the capital of Boquerón Department in the

Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or simply Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland tropical dry broadleaf forest natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion o ...

of western

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. It is the centre of the Fernheim Colony. The city lies about northwest of the capital

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

. With a population of about 20,000, it is the largest town in the 400 kilometer (250 mile) radius,Pearce 2012, p. 133. and accounts for almost a third of the departmental population.

History

Filadelfia was founded in 1930 by

Russian Mennonite The Russian Mennonites ( it. "Russia Mennonites", i.e., Mennonites of or from the Russian Empire are a group of Mennonites who are the descendants of Dutch and North German Anabaptists who settled in the Vistula delta in West Prussia for about ...

s who fled from the Soviet Union. Filadelfia lay near the front of the

Chaco War The Chaco War (, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and later being expelled. Filadelfia has developed into an important cattle herding settlement.

Infrastructure

Today the town is home to a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

, a

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

, a

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

and a hospital. The museum displays objects from the town's Mennonite past, like Russian overcoats, and the local wildlife, such as stuffed armadillos, anteaters, and toads. The colony's villages lie around Filadelfia, as do several native reserves, home to much of the area's native population, from the Chulupí, Lengua, Toba-Pilaga, Ayoreo and Sanapaná groups. A modern supermarket is located in the centre of the town, which is the last place to get groceries before heading further out into the Chaco. Most of the town's potable water supply is drawn from underground cisterns, being replenished by intermittent rainfall; the underground water is too salty to drink. A small commemorative park known as Parque Trebol lies about to the east of town. It now serves as a place for visitors to camp for the night.

Transportation

The newly asphalted highway, PY09, from Asunción continues past Filadelfia for another and runs out at the military checkpoint

Mariscal Estigarribia Mariscal Estigarribia () is a town in the Boquerón, Paraguay, Boquerón Department of Paraguay. It is home to Dr. Luis María Argaña International Airport (IATA code: ESG). Strategic importance The airport was constructed by Paraguayan milit ...

. From this point onwards, the road to the border town fort General Eugenio A. Garay with

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

is almost impassable.

Notable people

*A distinguished

writer and historian living in Filadelfia was Peter P. Klassen. *Former Canadian Minister of Public Safety

Vic Toews Victor Toews (; born September 10, 1952) is a Canadian politician and jurist. Toews is a justice of the Court of King's Bench of Manitoba. He represented Provencher in the House of Commons of Canada from 2000 until his resignation on July 9, ...

was born in Filadelfia in 1952.

Notes

References

World Gazeteer: Paraguay

External links

at Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
The 'Green Hell' Becomes Home: Mennonites in Paraguay as Described in the Writings of Peter P. Klassen
A review essay by Gerhard Reimer, Mennonite Quarterly Review 76, no. 4 (October 2002): 460–480. Populated places in the Boquerón Department Populated places established in 1930 Mennonitism in Paraguay Russian Mennonite diaspora in South America {{Paraguay-geo-stub