Santa Ana

These ruins are located in the town os Santa Ana, 700 m. away from national route No. 12 and 40 km. away from the city of Posadas.
The first reduction of Santa Ana was founded in 1633 in what is nowadays the territory of Río Grande, Brazil, but was then forced to emigrate because of the fierce attacks of the bandeirantes. Over 2,000 Guaraní Indians from the primitive reduction led by two members of the religious order, Romeo and Agustín Contreras, settled definitely in the reduction´s current location in 1660. In spite of the encroachment of the jungle, one can still appreciate the central square the Church, lodgings, workshops and cemetery used by the first inhabitants of the Santa Ana reduction.
One can also get an idea of the productive organization of this reduction with its water sources, farm grounds, orchards and stepped irrigation system.

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.