Ilosuna · CC BY 1.0Filadelfia (Colonia Fernheim)
The Mennonite capital of the Chaco: wide streets, pioneer and cooperative museums, and the best base for exploring the region.
What it is
Filadelfia is a surprise: in the middle of the Chaco scrubland, an orderly town of broad avenues and gardens appears, where you'll hear German and Plautdietsch (the Mennonites' Low German dialect) as often as Guaraní and Spanish. It's the headquarters of the Fernheim Cooperative, the driving force behind the area's dairy, beef and peanut industries. Its museum circuit (Jakob Unger, Knelsenhaus, the Colony House, the Industrial Museum and the Menno Simons Hof complex with its Museum of Intercultural Encounter) tells the epic story of refugees who arrived with nothing and of their life alongside the Indigenous peoples. It has the best services in the Central Chaco.
What to see and do
- The Fernheim Colony museum circuit: Jakob Unger, Knelsenhaus, the Colony House and the Industrial Museum
- The Menno Simons Hof complex and its Museum of Intercultural Encounter
- Parque Ruedas Pioneras, an open-air museum of the settlers' vehicles and carts
- The 40 × 100 m hedge maze in the village of Schönwiese (7 km)
- Fortín Trébol (5 km): a park and cemetery for soldiers who fell in the battles of Toledo
- Local products: Chaparrón craft beer, Kelwá peanuts and wild-fruit jams from Tukos Factory
Did you know…?
The main avenue is named Hindenburg in gratitude to German president Paul von Hindenburg, who helped the Mennonite refugees find a new home.
The Jakob Unger Museum displays around 190 of the roughly 250 bird species estimated for the Central Chaco, prepared by Jakob Unger and his son.
Fortín Trébol, 5 km away, sits in a park run by the Fernheim Colony and can be visited every day without booking.
History
The Fernheim Colony (“distant home”) was founded by some 1,700 Mennonite refugees from the Soviet Union, spread across 13 villages. On August 17, 1931 they established Filadelfia (“brotherly love”) as its administrative center, laid out like a chessboard. In 1993 it became the capital of Boquerón department, in 2006 it was made a municipality (Law 2928), and only in 2009 were its first 4 km of streets paved.
Tips
- The Fernheim tourist office (corner of Av. Hindenburg and Av. Trébol, opposite Hotel Florida) is open Mon-Sat 7:00-11:30 and Mon-Fri 14:00-18:00; it arranges guides and museum visits.
- Several museums can only be visited by appointment; shops close at midday and on Sundays.
- Bring cash, and book your hotel well ahead if your trip coincides with the Expo Rodeo Trébol, the Expo Neuland or the Transchaco Rally.
- On the way, stop at the Gran Chaco Americano Interpretation Center near the PY09 junction: Wed-Sun 9:00-17:00, free admission (check before you go).
Fernheim tourist office: Mon-Sat 7:00-11:30 and Mon-Fri 14:00-18:00; closed Sundays and public holidays. Museums with a guide, by prior appointment (check before you go).
Best time: May to September, when days are mild. The town celebrates its anniversary on August 17. In summer, avoid the midday hours: the heat tops 40 °C.
What to try
- Mennonite cooking: wurst (sausage), sauerkraut, schnitzel and Kartoffelsalat (potato salad)
- Dairy products and meat from the Chaco cooperatives
- Local craft beer
Activities
Where to stay
Festivals and events here
Nearby
Filadelfia (desvío a Filadelfia) · Boquerón
Centro de Interpretación del Gran Chaco Americano (CIGCHA)
The best introduction to the Chaco: history, wildlife and Indigenous peoples in a bioclimatic building ringed by samu'u trees, with SENATUR tourist information.
Loma Plata · Boquerón
Loma Plata (Colonia Menno)
The oldest Mennonite colony in the Chaco, birthplace of Trébol dairy and of the big livestock fairs.
Mariscal Estigarribia (zona Laguna Negra) · Boquerón
Fortín Toledo y Proyecto Taguá
A Chaco War fort that is now a refuge for the taguá, the peccary once thought to be extinct.
Colonia Menno (cerca de Loma Plata) · Presidente Hayes
Fortín Isla Po'i (Museo Ruta Chaco Boreal)
The great Paraguayan headquarters of the Chaco War, now an interactive museum and the cemetery of those who fell at Boquerón.
Neuland · Boquerón
Neuland (distrito de Boquerón)
The youngest of the Mennonite colonies: a pioneer museum, preserved native forest and the gateway to Fortín Boquerón.
Colonia Menno (distrito Teniente Irala Fernández) · Presidente Hayes
Laguna Capitán y lagunas saladas del Chaco Central
Salt lagoons deep in the Chaco where flamingos, coscoroba swans and hundreds of waterbirds spend the winter.
Researched and reviewed in September 2026 with 16 sources. A second reviewer checked dates, coordinates and lodging. Hours and prices may change.