Hohenau is a city of the Itapúa Department, Paraguay, located 8 kilometers away from Trinidad and 365 kilometers away from Asunción. It has extensive cultivation fields and streams nearby like the Capi'ivary, Poromocó, Mansisovy, Santa María and others.

The name comes from its elevate position with a little downhill to the Paraná river, meaning "High prairie", "Elevated camp" or "Undulated valley" in German.^{[citation needed]}

The city was founded on March 14, 1900 by Carlos Reverchon, Guillermo Closs, Ambrosio Scholler and Esteban Scholler, helped by German colonists. Founder Wilhelm (Guillermo) Closs, who was of German descent, was born on 31 October 1841 in Baumschneis, Brazil (today's Dois Irmãos). Closs established a place called "Serra Pelada" in the state of Río Grande do Sul. Later, he decided to move to Paraguay, where he met Hohenau's future co-founder Carlos Reverchon. Together, they drafted plans for a massive wave of German immigrants to settle in the region.

Aided by the Austrian consul to Paraguay, they successfully persuaded the government to allow for the construction of a colony. So, by a decree dated September 12, 1898, the Paraguayan government gave Guillermo Closs and Carlos Reverchon a share of 16 square leagues in the then Alto Paraná, Encarnación Department.