San Ignacio Miní

This reduction is in the heart of the town of San Ignacio, 60 km. away from the city of Posadas down national route No.12. It was founded in 1610 in the Guayrá area, then moved to Paranaimá in 1655 because of the invasions of the mamelucos, and finally moved to its current location in May of 1695.
Important restoration work carried out on this reduction has contributed towards its preservation. The urban layout of this Mission is similar to that of the remaining Jesuitical Reductions and includes a main square, a church, the house of the Jesuit father, a cemetery, lodgings, a town hall, and chapel.
This layout can still be appreciated nowadays in the remains of the thick walls of red grindstone used for the construction of the buildings. At the Peak of its development, this Mission was inhabited by over 3,300 souls and its closeness to the Paraná River enabled it to maintain a permanent exchange with the other reductions. The area occupied by the main square is used to offer a Light and Sound show aimed at providing a didactic account of what life was like in the missions from their beginnings up to the expulsion of this order in 1768.

The Jesuits arrived in America in the 16th century and set out to preach the gospel to the natives. They founded towns based on an organization that still amazes the world. The Jesuitical Retductions introduced the Guaraní Indian to the practice of Christianity in a vast territory comprising the south of Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and the Argentine litoral. The use of duly planned Indian labor enabled the creation of a firm economic base that gave rise to many conflicts over the possession of the native workers. This experience came to an end with the expulsion of the Jesuits from the country in 1768. The thirty towns they had created became disconnected with the organization of the different nation-states. Most of these towns were destroyed, but in our country one can still appreciate their magnificence in the ruins of the Reductions of San Ignacio, Loreto, Santa María and Santa Ana in the Province of Misiones and Yapeyú, Santo Tomé and San Carlos in the province of Corrientes. They were declared part of the World´s Historical Heritage by the UNESCO. In every case there are museums that harbor many remnants of these reductions that were gathered during the excavation work carried out in the area.