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Fernheim Colony
The Fernheim Colony is a Plautdietsch-speaking settlement of Russian Mennonite, Mennonites originally from Russia of about 5000 in the Gran Chaco, Chaco of Paraguay. Mennonites from the Soviet Union founded it between 1930 and 1932. Filadelfia is the administrative center of the colony, seat of Boquerón department and is considered the 'Capital of the Chaco'. In the late 1920s, some Mennonite refugees tried to escape persecution of "Kulaks" in Stalinism, Stalinist Russia, which meant the total destruction of the Mennonite religious and cultural life. They left their home villages and gathered in Moscow. For humanitarian reasons they were admitted into Germany, because they were believed to have German ethnicity, though most would be more accurately described as Dutch people, Dutch. Because there was no place in Germany where they could settle together as a community, they moved to Paraguay a year later. There already was a large settlements of Mennonites with the same Rus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Filadelfia Paraguay
Filadelfia () is the capital of Boquerón Department in the Gran Chaco of western Paraguay. It is the centre of the Fernheim Colony. It is about a 5-hour drive from the capital of Asunción. With a population of about 20,000, it is the largest town for .Pearce 2012, p. 133. History Filadelfia was founded in 1930 by Russian Mennonites who fled from the Soviet Union. Filadelfia lay near the front of the Chaco War, but was little affected. It became divided in the Second World War, with some of the original German colonists supporting Germany and later being expelled. Filadelfia has developed into an important cattle herding settlement. Infrastructure Today the town is home to a museum, a library, a radio station and a hospital. The museum displays objects from the town's Mennonite past, such as Russian overcoats, as well as the local wildlife, such as stuffed armadillos, anteaters, and toads. The colony's villages lie around Filadelfia, as do several native reserves, home to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |