Plaza Libertad

Right next to the Cathedral with a collection of religious objects like silverware used in the religious cult, many of such pieces go back to the Hispanic colonial period of Paraguay and others correspond to the period of great economic boom of the city. There are also ancient religious vestments, old documents, objects of personal use of the priests, portraits, watercolors and views of the different churches. Around 700 objects of great religious and artistic value.

The cathedral is a tall and striking building in yellow and white, not old but classical in style and with clean, elegant lines. Its construction began in 1960 after the collapse of a large part of the old church and the demolition of what remained of it. The works concluded in 1968 and in December of that year the inauguration of the new church took place. Inside you can find a holy water font carved in pink marble. The wooded altarpiece depicting the empty tomb with angels and soldiers is the work of Concepción-born artist Carlos Colombino, who specialises in wood creations. Other works of art inside the cathedral include a painting of the Virgin of Chestokowa, a gift of Pope John Paul II to the Diocese of Concepción.

A beautiful well preserved historical museum located in a 19th-century building that was once the barracks and the command post for Mariscal Lopez's army, beautifully restored, the building was built during the colonial era. The museum's collection is mostly made up of Triple Alliance War relics including the chassis and wheels of the wagon that once belonged to Madame Lynch and it transported her piano on the great retreat to the north during the final stage of the war in 1869-70. Among the objects on display there are sabres, military uniforms and trumpets, and some recovered unexploded grenades from the Chaco War battlegrounds. Some paintings from Russian Vladimir Kompanietz are on display. There are also indigenous artefacts and utensils, feather headdresses, as well as some bows and arrows.

The building was built in 1898 and houses the city's municipal offices. It sits in the center of the block surrounded on all sides by pretty gardens. Inside there are two very large and fine oil paintings, one shows the founding of Concepción by the Spaniard Agustín Fernando de Pinedo; the other shows the battle of Nanawa, a victory of Paraguay over Bolivia during the 1932-35 Chaco War.

This old building on Presidente Franco y Curupayty is still used and is an elegant corner house from 1915, a couple of blocks from the port. It is marked Correos y Telégrafos and was restored with Spanish cooperation.

In the former Teatro Municipal, an elegant yellow and grey building one block to the east of the Municipalidad. The museum's highlight is a series of paintings depicting many of the architectural gems of Concepcion's heyday, a number of which are still recognizable today. There is also a painting depicting the old port of Concepción from 1890. In the five rooms of the museum there are miscelaneous old objects of the city historical periods. Some interesting old objects include pre-Columbian indigenous pots, a grand piano and an old printing press. Also in the same building is the City Public Library. You can request the museum's Director if he could provide for a guided walking tour of Concepción historic building if his schedule permits.