During the Spanish colonial period in the 1600s, a number of Jesuit missions were established in the northern province of Misiones, near the border with Brazil. The mission once housed over 3,000 Indigenous people, but as the Jesuits left the country, the buildings fell into disrepair. The San Ignacio Mini mission ruins, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are the country’s largest and best-preserved mission ruins.
The original mission, built in red-brown stone in the Guaran Baroque style, was massive, with a monastery, a cabildo (administrative office), a cemetery, and several living spaces. The best-preserved part of the ruins is the mission’s church, which measures 74 metres long by 24 metres wide.
A small museum on-site tells the mission’s story, and there’s a scale model of the original San Ignacio Mini. Also other places are around to visit.