Helvecia is a town (''comuna'') in the center-east of the , on the San Javier River (which empties promptly into the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( es, Río Paraná, links=no , pt, Rio Paraná, gn, Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Br ...

). It had about 8,500 inhabitants at the and it is the head town of the

Garay Department The Garay Department (in Spanish, ''Departamento Garay'') is an administrative subdivision (''departamento'') of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located in the center-east of the province. It has about 20,000 inhabitants as per the . I ...

. Helvecia lies north-northeast from the provincial capital, to which it is linked by Provincial Route 1 and National Route 11. It is also located only 15 km from the ruins of the old provincial capital, Cayastá. The town was founded in 1865 by Dr. Teófilo Romang, who had signed a contract with the provincial government, receiving 50 km² of land for free on the condition of founding an agricultural colony with 125

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

families. Romang first came accompanied by 12 Swiss people in order to inspect the site, on 1865-01-01. Helvecia attained the status of ''comuna'' (

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

) on 1886-07-14. Helvecia is a prime spot for fishing of the ''amarillo'' ( Banded Pimelodid, ''Pimelodus clarias clarias''), and hosts the National and Provincial Amarillo Fishing Festival in July, which includes fishing contests and folkloric celebrations.

References

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''Bienvenidos a Santa Fe''
- Touristic website. Populated places in Santa Fe Province Paraná River {{SantaFeAR-geo-stub