Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos

Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Church in Concepción
Location	Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia
Includes	Mission of San Francisco Javier Mission of Concepción Mission of Santa Ana Mission of San Miguel Mission of San Rafael Mission of San José
Criteria	Cultural: (iv), (v)
Reference	529
Inscription	1990 (14th Session)
Coordinates	16°46′15″S 61°27′15″W / 16.770846°S 61.454265°W / -16.770846; -61.454265
Location of Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos in Bolivia

The Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos are located in the Santa Cruz department in eastern Bolivia. Six of these former missions (all now secular municipalities) collectively were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990. Distinguished by a unique fusion of European and Amerindian cultural influences, the missions were founded as reductions or reducciones de indios by Jesuits in the 17th and 18th centuries to convert local tribes to Christianity.

The interior region bordering Spanish and Portuguese territories in South America was largely unexplored at the end of the 17th century. Dispatched by the Spanish Crown, Jesuits explored and founded eleven settlements in 76 years in the remote Chiquitania – then known as Chiquitos – on the frontier of Spanish America. They built churches (templos) in a unique and distinct style that combined elements of native and European architecture. The indigenous inhabitants of the missions were taught European music as a means of conversion. The missions were self-sufficient, with thriving economies, and virtually autonomous from the Spanish crown.

After the expulsion of the Jesuit order from Spanish territories in 1767, most Jesuit reductions in South America were abandoned and fell into ruins. The former Jesuit missions of Chiquitos are unique because these settlements and their associated culture have survived largely intact.

A large restoration project of the missionary churches began with the arrival of the former Swiss Jesuit and architect Hans Roth in 1972. Since 1990, these former Jesuit missions have experienced some measure of popularity, and have become a tourist destination. A popular biennial international musical festival put on by the nonprofit organization Asociación Pro Arte y Cultura^[1] along with other cultural activities within the mission towns, contribute to the popularity of these settlements.