Fernheim Colony is a Russian Mennonite settlement of about 5000 in the Chaco

Gran Chaco

The Gran Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semi-arid lowland region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, where it is connected with the Pantanal region...

 of Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

. Mennonites from the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 founded it between 1930 and 1932. Filadelfia

Filadelfia

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.-History:...

 is the administrative center of the colony. The state capital, Boquerón, is considered the 'Capital of the Chaco'.

During the 1930s, some Russian Mennonites seeking to escape Stalinism

Stalinism

Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...

 were admitted into Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 because they spoke German and Plautdietsch

Plautdietsch

Plautdietsch, or Mennonite Low German, was originally a Low Prussian variety of East Low German, with Dutch influence, that developed in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia, today Polish territory. The word is another pronunciation of Plattdeutsch, or Low German...

. Nevertheless, they did not want to stay, and a year later they moved to Paraguay. There already were settlements in Paraguay, such as the villages of Blumengart, Schönbach and Simons of the Menno Colony

Menno Colony

Menno Colony is a settlement founded by Russian Mennonites in 1926 in the central Chaco of northwest Paraguay occupying an area of 7500 km² . Neighbouring Mennonite settlements are Fernheim Colony and Neuland Colony.- History :...

 founded by Chortitza

Chortitza

Chortitza Colony was a Russian Mennonite settlement northwest of Khortytsia Island and is now part of Zaporizhia, Ukraine. Chortitza was founded in 1789 by...

, Sommerfeld and Bergthal

Bergthal Colony

The Bergthal Colony was a Mennonite settlement in the southern part of the former Russian Empire, now Ukraine that emigrated to Manitoba, Canada....

 Mennonites from Canada in the 1920s. The Russian Mennonites settled nearby, founding Fernheim Colony.

The journey to Paraguay was extremely difficult. Their destination, set aside by Paraguayan government decree, was completely undeveloped. Travel was exhausting: a steamboat

Steamboat

A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...

 was taken up the Paraguay River

Paraguay River

The Paraguay River is a major river in south central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina...

 to Puerto Casado, from where a narrow gauge railway went 150 km (93 mi) west into the Chaco bush. From there it was a few more long days of travel by oxcart

Bullock cart

A bullock cart or ox cart is a two-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen . It is a means of transportation used since ancient times in many parts of the world. They are still used today where modern vehicles are too expensive or the infrastructure does not favor them.Used especially for carrying goods,...

 to their settlement area. It was not until 1956 that the construction of the trans-Chaco highway connecting Asunción

Asunción

Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San...

 to Filadelfia was started.

The economic base of Fernheim is agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 and processing of agricultural products. The most important products are cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

, peanut

Peanut

The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...

s, beef

Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...

, milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

 and dairy product

Dairy product

Dairy products are generally defined as foods produced from cow's or domestic buffalo's milk. They are usually high-energy-yielding food products. A production plant for such processing is called a dairy or a dairy factory. Raw milk for processing comes mainly from cows, and, to a lesser extent,...

s.

Fernheim is the second Mennonite colony in Paraguay, after Menno Colony.

Further reading

• Heinrich Duerksen (Hrsg.): 50 Jahre Kolonie Fernheim. Ein Beitrag in der Entwicklung Paraguays, Filadelfia, Kolonie Fernheim, 1980
• Kai Rohkohl: Die plautdietsche Sprachinsel Fernheim, Chaco (Paraguay), Elwert, Marburg, 1993, ISBN 3-7708-1020-1

External links

• Filadelfia (Fernheim Colony, Boquerón Department, Paraguay) at Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
  Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
  The Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online is an online encyclopedia of topics relating to Mennonites and Anabaptism. The mission of the project is to provide free, reliable, English-language information on anabaptist-related topics....