Oberá

Sarmiento Avenue.

Oberá is the second city in size and importance of the province, and the core of the Sierras Centrales region. The area is a colorful landscape, with luxurious vegetation, streams, cascades and hilly areas. Oberá is also the educational and cultural capital of the central region of the province, with availability of universities and colleges (such as the National University of Misiones). Its economy is based on agriculture and industry.

The local culture is marked by European influences, since the area was settled by numerous colonies of immigrants, starting in 1897.

Oberá is also known as the "City of the Churches", since it features more than 30 churches, belonging to a diversity of denominations (including Eastern and Western Catholic rites, Eastern Orthodox, and several Evangelical/Protestant churches). On June 13, 2009, Oberá was made the see of the newly erected Roman Catholic Diocese of Oberá. The latter was created with territory carved out from the Diocese of Posadas.

In addition to the many churches, other tourist sites include:

• Jardín de los Pájaros (Birds' Garden), showcasing more than 200 species of birds.
• Monteaventura, a recreational estate with ecological footpaths and games.
• Salto Berrondo (Berrondo Waterfall), a forest area with camping facilities.
• Reserva del Chachí, a nature reserve near the city, featuring chachís (giant ferns).
• Centro Zootoxicológico, with a diversity of reptiles, including one of the largest serpentaries in the country.
• Oberá Park, a summer recreation center.
• Parque de las Naciones (Park of the Nations), devoted to typical houses of the immigrant communities.
• Historic and Natural Sciences Museum
• Casa de la Cultura' (Culture House), with exhibitions of diverse artists.

Other attractions include visits to small farms and plantations, including those of yerba mate and tea, the major products of Misiones.

Cathedral of St. Anthony of Padua (Roman Catholic)

Picture of the Russian House, in the Park of the Nations

Oberá has a very warm humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) and is alongside Bernardo de Irigoyen the wettest city in Argentina, with an average annual rainfall of around 2,300 millimetres or 90 inches. The climate features hot, oppressive summers and warm winters, with regular spells of heavy rain from the advection of hot tropical air poleward by the western side of the South Atlantic subtropical anticyclone.

The city is home to the Oberá Tenis Club, a multi-sports club which is especially known for its professional basketball department. The team plays its home games at the Estadio Oberá Tenis Club. Autódromo Ciudad de Oberá is also based in this city.

In 1913, a group of immigrants, most of them Swedish, founded it, drawing inspiration for its name from a valkyrie or escudera [female warrior] (mother Svea) belonging to an ancient tradition in the history of Sweden.

The territory where Svea was founded had originally been largely populated by nomadic indigenous peoples, and it belonged to the province of Corrientes until the province of Misiones was federalized in 1891. The province is located in the northeast of Argentina and has very particular geographical features, among which the jungle areas and the Iguazu River stand out. The Iguazu River flows north into the famous Iguazu Falls, which were declared a World Heritage Site and are located about 300 kilometers away from the north of the city of Oberá.

• Eliana Krawczyk (1982–2017), Argentine Navy officer
• Diego Hartfield (born 1981), stockbroker and tennis player
• Marcos Martínez (born 1977), actor and comedian
• Sebastián Meza (born 2000), footballer
• Mario Noremberg (born 1962), footballer
• Carlos Okulovich (born 1985), car racer
• Hugo Passalacqua (born 1957), former governor of Misiones

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oberá.

• Official website
• Oberá Online
• Press article about Oberá City and documentary (in Spanish only)
• Fiesta del Inmigrante (Immigrant's Festival official website)

• Abínzano, Roberto / Proceso de integración de una sociedad multiétnica: la provincia Argentina de Misiones. El frente extractivo. – s.l.: Universidad de Sevilla, 1985 – Tesis de Doctorado – T. 1 – INV.: 1472G.
• Bartolomé, Leopoldo J. / Colonias y colonizadores en Misiones. – Posadas: UnaM, 1982 – INV.: 1204G.
• Flodell, Gunvor / Misiones svenska : sprakbevarande och sprakpaverkan i en sydamerikansk talgemenskap. – Uppsala: Institutionen for Nordiska Sprak, 1986 – INV.: 324G.
• Gallardo, Carlos R. / Territorio Nacional de Misiones: colonización austro-polaco, su comienzo, desarrollo y situación actual. – Buenos Aires: J. Peuser, 1903 – INV.: 153G, 260G y 1018G.
• Glatz, Markus / Schweizerische einwanderer in Misiones. – Frankfurt: Lang, 1997 – INV: 325G.
• Schiavoni, Angela Perie / La colonización en Misiones: contexto internacional, nacional y sus antecedentes. – Posadas: UnaM, 1985 – INV: 297G.
• Archivo General de la Nación. Archivos de tierras y colonias, CAJAS 2 y 3
• Gori, Gastón. Inmigración y colonización en la Argentina, Buenos Aires, EUDEBA, 4° edición. 1983
• Cortés Conde, Roberto. El progreso argentino, Buenos Aires, Editorial Sudamericana. 1979
• Memorias del Ministerio de Agricultura (Argentina)
• The Immigration, Colección de Arte y Memoria Audiovisual. Jorge Luis Farjat - Graciela Swiderski. Buenos Aires. 1999.
• The Creation (History of Svea) La Creación (Historia de Svea). Audiovisual. Jorge Luis Farjat. 1998.
• Bartolomé, Leopoldo. Colonias y asentamientos en Misiones. Posadas. UNAM. 1982.