Encarnación

Encarnación, formerly Itapúa, city, southeastern Paraguay. The city was founded in 1614 on the west bank of the Upper Paraná River, opposite Posadas, Arg., to which it is linked by a bridge completed in 1987. Severely damaged by a tornado in 1926, it is now a busy commercial, manufacturing, and communications centre. The city is divided into two sectors: the High (old) City and the Low (new) City. The High City contains the church, the municipal offices, the courts, a baccalaureate college, a teachers college, commerce schools, and the principal residences. In the Low City are located the post office, various houses of commerce, factories, hotels, a branch of the Bank of Paraguay, and a radio and television station. It processes lumber, maté (tea), tobacco, cotton, corn (maize), rice, and cattle from the hinterland. Goods are shipped by highway to Asunción or to Posadas via the bridge. Another paved highway leads northeast to Ciudad del Este and thence to Iguaçu Falls; there is also an airport. Pop. (2002) urban area, 67,173.