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AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2004 - excerpts from the editorial
The Charm of Rudolstadt
by Jörg M. Unger
Twelve hundred years of history combine with contemporary world music and dance in “The Green Heart of Germany.”
People love Rudolstadt – just ask anyone. I did exactly that and found that from American vacationers and businessmen to musicians and exchange students, anyone who has had a chance to spend some
time in this nearly one-thousand-two-hundred-thirty-year-old town in Thuringia will share stories about three things – the friendly, open people who are eager to learn of other cultures; the beautiful
countryside; and Rudolstadt’s annual Dance and Folk Festival.
A journey to Rudolstadt begins with a look at the town from Castle Heidecksburg, the residence of former rulers of the principality Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. This symbol of the town sits on the hill
with its white and yellow front dotted with hundreds of windows, a huge slate roof, and a copper-covered clock tower. When you take one of the walkways through the old town up the ascent to the palace, you can
still imagine some count's carriage rattling up the hillock; horses of famous painters, musicians, and other honorable folk clattering on ancient cobblestones; proud carpenters carrying their tools for repairs;
and gaunt peasants lugging sacks of grain or potatoes through the heavy gate.
Today, the Baroque castle houses a museum with a collection of paintings and lots of china and porcelain, as the alchemist Georg Heinrich Macheleid invented the production of porcelain
(independent of Johann Friedrich Böttger and his manufactory in Meissen) and founded the oldest Thuringian china factory in Rudolstadt in 1760. Among the numerous paintings, you can even admire Caspar David
Friedrich's "Rising Morning Mist In The Mountains," which was on loan to the Museum of Art in Atlanta during the 1996 Olympics. The museum also shows historical furniture of all periods as well as
swords, armors, gun barrels, and hunting weapons, inlaid with bone and mother-of-pearl. The department for local history gives an overview of the development of the region, starting from its first settlements in
775 A.D. to the present time.
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Touring Through Time
by Keith W. Strandberg
Exquisite views accompany equally impressive watches during a motorcycle tour of Switzerland’s Jura Valley – home of world’s greatest watch manufacturers.
- Swiss chocolate.
- Swiss Alps.
- Swiss watches.
That is the progression in most people's mind, but the Watch Valley Tourism Association is out to change that. They want to position watches first and foremost in travelers' minds. The Jura
Valley, the home of Swiss watchmaking, is committed to using watches as the hook to entice tourists to visit and stay.
It is a good idea: as fine watches become more popular, the Jura Valley will become more of a destination. Add to that the fact that the Swiss watch industry, with its technical achievement,
artistry, innovation, tradition, craftsmanship, and overall excellence, is fascinating, and it is all on display in the Jura Valley. Most of the Swiss watch companies are in the Watch Valley, which stretches
from Geneva in the South to Basel in the North, and the finest watch museums in the world are located there. Add to all this the beauty and intriguing culture of Switzerland and you have the perfect Swiss
vacation spot.
The Vallee de Joux, or the Jura Valley, is the cradle of watchmaking in Switzerland, and really the center of mechanical timepiece manufacture for the entire world. It is here that the most
skilled artisans in the industry make the world's greatest timepieces. The Swiss watch industry is the envy of every country in the world.
Nowhere else in the world and in no other industry can you go to such a small area, the Jura Valley, and visit as many watch companies and watch museums as you can here, all within an hour or two
from each other. Some of the biggest names in the industry are just down the street from each other. Ebel is in La Chaux-du-Fonds, just two blocks down the street from Girard-Perregaux, and on the other side of
main street is the International Watchmaking Museum. La Chaux-de-Fonds is ten minutes from Le Locle, where you will find Zenith, the Audemars Piguet high complications manufacture, Montblanc, and the Chateau des
Monts Watch Museum, another amazing museum. Unbelievable.
How did the watch industry end up here? Well, it started with the Huguenots, who moved to Geneva to escape religious persecution in France. They then spread out from Geneva into the valleys to
farm. However, when the winters moved in, there was no farming to be done, so they needed a skill to develop to make money and keep themselves occupied during the long, cold Swiss winters.
Watchmaking filled that void for the Huguenots, and the Swiss watch industry was born. In the 1970s, the quartz watch was introduced and the Swiss watch industry almost died. As a result of hard
work by the watch companies and a worldwide rebirth of interest in fine, mechanical timepieces, the Swiss are back and stronger than ever.
During my trip in the Watch Valley, I focused on the watch companies, with several museums sprinkled throughout. As the watch editor for InSync magazine, I made my arrangements well in advance of
my trip and was welcomed with open arms at every step along the way. As I wanted to maximize the time spent on my motorcycle, I did not follow any progressive order…
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Ludwigsburg – A “Swabian Versailles”
by Leah Larkin
Untouched by the bombs of WWII, Germany’s largest and best-preserved Baroque residence celebrates three hundred years.
Royal residences and palaces, lavish and splendid in décor and furnishings, abound throughout Europe. A real gem is Schloss Ludwigsburg in the town of Ludwigsburg just north of
Stuttgart. It’s the largest preserved Baroque residence in Germany and celebrates its three hundredth anniversary this year with the completion of extensive renovation, new museum openings and a host of
special events.
“I’m totally thrilled when I’m here.
I always notice new details,” remarked Monika Bergan, press spokesperson for the city of Ludwigsburg during a palace tour as she looked at sculpture framing a doorway. “I had never noticed the little angels (putti) with wings.”
Indeed there’s much to admire in this palace with its eighteen buildings containing 452 rooms. Known as the “Swabian Versailles,” it was built between 1704 and 1733 by Duke Eberhard Ludwig von
Württemberg to serve as a hunting lodge, but in 1718 it became the official state residence. Under Eberhard Ludwig the architecture was Austro-Hungarian and the decor was Baroque. He was followed by Duke Carl
Alexander von Württemberg, then Duke Carl Eugen. The latter added apartments in the French Rococo style, but the royal residence moved back to Stuttgart in 1775.
Later came Duke Friedrich II who wanted to use Ludwigsburg as his summer palace. Napoleon made the duke “king” in 1803, and King Friedrich had many of the palace rooms redecorated in the Empire style.
Take a tour (one kilometer in length), and marvel at the numerous rooms in all three periods. Tours in English are available (see “If you go”). “This is different than many castles,” guide Wolfram
Flatzek pointed out. “It’s completely furnished and it was not bombed in World War II.” The palace, he added, was not used for some two hundred years, but its contents were preserved.
Guides delight, not only in pointing out the exquisite furnishings, but also in providing savory details about the folks who lived in these posh surroundings.
Eberhard Ludwig, after whom the palace is named, wanted the castle built as a refuge for himself and his mistress, Wilhelmine von Grävenitz, who was politically a powerful figure in those days,
but disliked by the palace court with whom she butt heads. Back then marriage was based on politics not love, and all the royalty had mistresses. Eberhard Ludwig lived in Ludwigsburg with Wilhelmine for
twenty-five years, until the court became worried that he had no legal heir. His one legitimate son had died. He was pressured into leaving Wilhelmine, to bring his wife to Ludwigsburg and to have a
child, but alas she was fifty-three by that time, and no child was conceived…
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Bridging the Divide – The AFS Congress-Bundestag Program
by Brenda Ruggiero
American and German youth gain a new perspective through a successful cultural exchange program.
“I have learned that there are more important things than buying the newest design of running shoes, being the captain of the school football team, or to find out who goes out with whom. I
am aware that besides my known world, there is still so much to explore and discover. I have learned to appreciate what is different.” – Peter John, United States.
The youth of today will quickly grow into the leaders of tomorrow. In a world where war is a reality, the key to bringing peace in the future may lie in changing the perspective of our youth
today. That is the goal of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program, currently in its twentieth year. Jointly sponsored by the United States Congress and the German Bundestag, the program makes it possible
for high school students to immerse themselves for a full year in German language, culture, and society. It is a part of AFS Intercultural Programs (formerly the American Field Service), a worldwide, non-profit
organization that has been involved in student exchange for more than fifty-five years.
“AFS began when a group of volunteer ambulance drivers from World War I and World War II got together to try to find a way to stop the devastation of war from happening again,” explained
Marlene Baker, AFS marketing and media consultant. “They believed – and AFS believes today – that one of the ways to help build a more just and peaceful world is by international exchanges and intercultural
learning experiences that we provide to individuals, families, schools, and communities.”
In 1947, AFS exchanged fifty-two young people from eleven countries that had formerly been at war. These numbers have continued to grow.
“Today, AFS-USA sends approximately one thousand five hundred students to more than forty countries around the world that are considered AFS partner countries where we have program staff and
offices,” Baker explained. “We welcome more than two thousand seven hundred high school students from countries around the world to AFS-USA. We give approximately one million dollars in financial aid and
scholarships to help make it possible for all kinds of students to go abroad.”…
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Celebrating the Cows
by Leah Larkin
Following a glorious summer grazing in the mountains, the elaborately decorated cows of Weissach make a festive return.
A large jovial crowd, many attired in Lederhosen or Dirndls, gathered outside the beer tent. Everyone’s eyes were on the mountain road in the distance. Soon they shouted and pointed. What they
came to see appeared rounding a bend up in the hills. Cows. A small group of the beasts led by herders. Bells clanged. Men guiding animals shouted and shoved. The crowd cheered.
The animals came closer and closer. The clanging and clinging grew louder and louder. The herdsmen worked the cattle with their staffs to keep them on track down into the valley.
It was the Viehscheid (driving the cattle down from the mountain), a traditional folklore festival in the village of Weissach in southern Germany’s Allgäu region. The fun and lusty
celebration went on for several hours as some 1,000 cattle marched down the mountain.
The cattle, many decorated with elaborate wreaths and headdresses of greenery, flowers and ribbons and all wearing huge bells, were divided into groups according to their owner. Franz
Meisburger’s cows, a group of seventy, were the first down at 8:40 a.m.
In Germany’s mountainous Allgau, in parts of Switzerland and Austria, the cows are feted in the fall when they return to the valleys after spending summers high up in alpine pastures where
herdsmen live in huts near their charges.
Peter Berg, a local who came by to “have a small beer” and watch the festivities, explained that “Viehscheid” actually means separating the cows. The animals from different owners all mingle
together over the summer. Each has a tag in its ear, which identifies to whom it belongs. Before returning, the cows are separated into the appropriate groups…
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Along the Allgäuer Cheese Route
by Sharon Hudgins
Flavorful cheese and beautiful views make a trip to southern Germany a delight for the senses.
Tourists from all over the world travel to Bavaria to hike in the Alps, visit the fairy-tale castles and, of course, drink the beer. But on my last trip to Bavaria, I went there for
the cheese.
My husband, Tom, a man who chows down on cheese as if he’d been a mouse in a former life, accompanied me. Driving southward from the city of Memmingen, we headed for the region known
as the Allgäu, Germany's most important cheese-producing area.
Located in southern Germany, adjacent to the Austrian border, the Allgäu is an Alpine-and-foothills region that extends across the southwestern tip of Bavaria and into the neighboring state
of Baden-Württemberg. Its boundaries range approximately from the towns of Pfronten and Kempten in the east to Wangen and Leutkirch in the west.
Meandering along a rambling route known as the Allgäuer Käsestrasse (Allgäu Cheese Route), we focused our trip on those areas where many of the region's small cheese-producers ply their
trade. And we soon found ourselves in one of the most beautiful parts of Germany—a little corner of the country filled with delights for all the senses.
Our introduction to this area began at the Schwäbisches Bauernhofmuseum (Swabian Farm Museum), the first open-air museum built in Bavaria (1955).
Situated in the village of Illerbeuren, in the Iller River valley between the A-7 and A-96 Autobahns, this museum presents a fascinating view of traditional Swabian farm life during centuries past. Many of its two-dozen buildings are handsome half-timbered structures, dating as far back as 1686, which have been moved to the site from other places in the region. Inside the farmhouses, barns, and workshops are interesting exhibits about local flax production, dairying, shoe making, beekeeping, and bread baking—with ready explanations supplied by the museum's friendly staff. There is also a Töpferei (pottery) where you can watch local potters shape, glaze, and fire their colorful wares, which are for sale to the public.
Dinner on our first evening in the Allgäu was at the cozy Brauerei-Gasthof Mohren in Leutkirch, only a few kilometers down the road from the open-air museum.
The next morning we made our way to the town of Wangen, where we had planned to stop only briefly to gather more information about Allgäuer cheeses. But Wangen turned out to be so interesting that we stayed half the day—still not long enough to do justice to that pleasant market town, its streets graced by ornately painted houses and Renaissance towers. My favorite site was the city's museum complex, a set of eight different museums housed in a series of connecting buildings dating from the sixteenth century. One of them is a Käsereimuseum (Cheese-Making Museum) where I learned more about how Allgäuer cheeses have been made from the early nineteenth century to the modern era…
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Along the Gentle Weser
by Mark Slider
Cold rains are a distant memory, replaced with warm welcomes, beautiful scenery, and a memorable visit.
Although chilly showers were a (nearly) constant companion, my long-awaited inaugural trip to Germany was a delight – filled with beautiful landscapes, intriguing people, and glorious architecture
that have stood the test of time. Brief glimpses of sunshine kept my fellow tour members hopeful that the sky would break and blue sky would blanket our remaining days. Mother Nature, however, had other plans.
After all, it was spring and that periodic moisture kept the unforgettable Spargel coming full force. Those long white tapers were everywhere and as a lover of asparagus, that was fine with me. Fittingly, my
first meal in Hamburg aboard the Rickmer Rickmers (a wonderful floating museum and restaurant) was a lunch of white asparagus and ham accompanied by clarified butter and hollandaise sauce. Washed down with my
first Radler (a fifty-fifty mix of lemonade and beer) and I was a weary but happy camper.
Time in Hamburg was divided between press conferences and press tours with a side visit to the German Travel Mart – an annual event marketing regional tourism, attractions, and accommodations to a
worldwide audience of potential vacationers and conventioneers. A motorcoach/walking tour introduced us to the numerous sights in this wonderful port city. Our bus was a gargantuan Gulliver surrounded by a sea
of Lilliputian micro-cars. As a car nut, I was amazed at the number of models I had never seen before. As with most press junkets, tours provide all-too-brief glances at attractions, yet provide just enough
exposure to whet the appetite for future investigations.
Further touring outside of Hamburg during the opening stage of my excursion took us to two wonderful castles – Schloss Ahrensburg and Schloss Reinbek – both beautiful examples of manor houses, and
St. Nicolai Kirche, a north German Baroque style church situated along the Elbe. Then on to Curslak and the Freilichtmuseum Rieck Haus, a great little open-air museum. Our guide, Frau Eggers, shared tidbits
about existence in the farmhouse/smokehouse as we walked through its small living quarters.
My three-day post-convention tour was with a group of twenty-four travel professionals and journalists from around the world. We loaded into our motorcoach bright and early at 6:30 am on Wednesday
morning (a very sad looking group) and made our way to Hamburg’s train station where we took the ICE train to our starting point in Kassel. Once in Kassel, we boarded our new mobile home for the next three days
and headed straight for the Brothers Grimm Museum. The museum chronicles the lives and writings of the siblings and is worth a visit. From the museum, we proceeded on to Kassel’s Schlosshotel Bad Wilhelmshöhe,
an incredible stone castle water park high atop the hills overlooking the town…
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Bernkastel-Kues - City of Vine and Wine
by Kim Carpenter
Each autumn, sweet golden drops rain down upon this quaint town along the Mosel River.
Every late August and early September, thousands of foreign tourists flock to Germany's Mosel Valley for the region's autumnal wine festivals. The majority inevitably head for Cochem or Winningen,
but the Germans themselves zone in on Bernkastel-Kues. This charming little city is the result of the joining together of two medieval towns in 1905 by a bridge, with Bernkastel nestled on one shore of the Mosel
River and Kues on the other. Almost a century later, locals and visitors alike consider quiet Bernkastel-Kues an "internationale Stadt der Rebe und des Weines," or an "international city of vine
and wine."
Considering that some of the world's best Rieslings come from the Mosel Valley, this appellation is entirely apt. Germany, of course, has long been renowned for its white wine. Indeed,
Bernkastel-Kues's wine tradition stretches back over two thousand years, to when the Romans first extended their empire to conquer the barbaric Germanic tribes. The newly installed legions quickly discovered
that nothing would grow along the Mosel's steep slopes – except, that is, grapes. Although planting was tricky, the Romans were ingenious and trained vines vertically up stakes. This proved the ideal solution,
because the southern slopes exposed the vineyards to lots of fresh air and sunshine, which explains why an area this far north produces such fine wine.
During the Medieval Ages, monasteries and bishops took over the vineyards, and their legacy is the plethora of religious-sounding labels that exist today. The Christian orders continued, however,
to cultivate vines in the same manner as the Roman colonizers, and there has been little innovation to this ancient planting method over the past two millennia. Even today, Mosel vintners (of which there are
over five thousand) have not been able to improve upon the Roman planting system, and it is one of the few places in the world where these vertical vine-planting techniques are employed.
Even with this ancient history, Riesling wines have not always received the reputation they deserve. In previous decades, foreigners have tended to disregard Rieslings as too sweet and cheap. Yet
true wine aficionados have always regarded the Riesling white grape as one that develops intense flavors at lower ripeness levels.
Fortunately, Riesling is currently enjoying a bit of a renaissance, or, as some Germans like calling it, a “Riesling-Revolution.” As the public becomes acquainted with just how good Riesling wine
is, foreign sales, especially in the United States, are skyrocketing. Riesling wines from the Mosel Valley are particularly superb. They are pale gold in color and delicately fruity, bursting on the tongue with
flavors of apple, honey, melon, apricot, and pear…
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The War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713) and Early Brandenburg-Prussian Attempts at Colonialism
by Robert A. Selig
The War of the Spanish Succession, known as Queen Anne's War on this side of the Atlantic, was a European war. It was decided on the battlefields of Europe, at Blenheim in 1704, Ramilles in 1706, or Malplaquet in 1709. With the expansion of the European powers into the New World, however, into Africa, Asia, and the island-worlds of the Pacific Ocean in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it was almost unavoidable that European conflicts would expand into worldwide colonial wars. "Le principal objet de la guerre présente est celui du commerce des Indes et des richesses qu'elles produisent -- the principal object of the current war is that of the trade with the two Indies and the riches which they produce," King Louis XIV had written to Amelot de Gournay, his ambassador in Spain, in February 1709. In the age of mercantilism this could not be any other way. An active trade balance achieved through the importation of raw materials and the export of manufactured goods was considered indispensable for the welfare of a state.
But the states of the Holy Roman Empire, primarily Brandenburg-Prussia, were latecomers in the race for the riches of the world. In an attempt to take advantage of the opportunities created by the
decline of the Dutch Republic during the second half of the seventeenth century as the pre-eminent trading power of the world, Brandenburg-Prussia had only just begun in the 1680s to establish trading posts in
Africa and in the Caribbean, prerequisites for entering the profitable overseas trade. The War of the Spanish Succession, fought not least by Britain to prevent the merging of the Spanish with the emerging
French colonial empires, extinguished these ambitions. Unable to defend their trade in the conflict of the nascent naval superpowers of their day, they saw their tiny fleets destroyed along with the scattered
holdings they had been built to protect.
It did not have to be that way. The banking and trading houses of the Fugger and Welser families in Augsburg had played an important role in financing the explorations of the early sixteenth
century. But they had been ruined in the financial collapses of Spain at the end of that century. The huge landholdings of the Welser in South America were lost. Then came the massive destruction of the
Thirty-Year's War from 1618 to 1648. It took decades before the German states had risen from the ruins of that conflict and begun to look outward. Among the first to do so was Brandenburg-Prussia under the Great
Elector Frederick William I…
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GALLERY
Berlin’s Jewish Museum
by Ruth Rovner
The first sight of the building is striking: a stark, zinc-clad structure with jagged lines. Instead of actual windows, there are thin glass slashes. Some say the design resembles a
lightning bolt; others see a symbol of destruction.
But there’s no argument that the architecture of the Jewish Museum Berlin is unique. It drew crowds even before it officially opened on September 9, 2001. Almost 350,000 people came to see
and tour the empty building. Polish-born American architect Daniel Libeskind, who won first prize in an international competition, created its design. (More recently, Libeskind gained even higher profile when he
won the competition to design the memorial for the World Trade Center.)
Of course, many more visitors have experienced the museum ever since it opened with a gala event attended by an array of notables that included the German chancellor, the Federal president, the
Parliament president, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and many prominent Jewish and German leaders. Marking its third anniversary this September 9th, the Jewish Museum Berlin is one of the
most popular museums in Germany. Not only is the distinctive building a city landmark, but it has attracted over l.7 million visitors since its opening. Last year alone, an estimated 660,000 visited.
The largest Jewish museum in Europe, it’s the third most visited museum in Berlin, after the Pergamon Museum and Checkpoint Charlie.
Federally funded, its scope and purpose make it unique. No other museum covers 2000 years of German Jewish history, from medieval times to the present. "Religion is not the main focus,"
said Cilly Kugelmann, Director of Programs. "Our focus is the history of Jews and of Judaism in Germany." This history is presented to visitors who are mostly not Jewish. Three-quarters of them are
either from Berlin or elsewhere in Germany, and Jews are a small minority in Germany today. The other twenty-five percent of visitors come from all over the world…
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AT HOME
Say Cheese!
by Sharon Hudgins
The Germans are among the world's biggest consumers of cheese, eating an average of almost fifty pounds per person every year.
They eat cheese, sliced or spread, as a breakfast food, in sandwiches and for snacks, for light suppers in the evening, and as a separate course in larger, more formal meals. Cheese served
this way is often accompanied by butter and a variety of light and dark breads, crusty rolls, and even pretzels – washed down with cups of creamy, sweetened coffee in the morning and glasses of local wine or
beer during the rest of the day.
Germans also use cheese as a cooking ingredient in a large number of dishes, from appetizers to main dishes to dumplings and desserts. Following are four easy recipes featuring different
cheeses from the region of Bavaria, the largest cheese-producing area in Germany. In the United States, you can find these German cheeses at many delicatessens that stock European products.
As a German proverb says, "Cheese and bread make the cheeks red!" Guten appetit!…
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FAMILY RESEARCH
It Started With One Blind Letter…
by James M. Beidler
In 1991, I was several years into producing a surname history book when someone forwarded a letter to me from the family about which I was doing the book.
The letter was from a German man named Rudolf Daub, who said he was interested in communicating with Daubs in America about genealogy.
A more fortunate turn of events has never happened in my genealogical life. “Rudi,” as it turned out, lived just a few kilometers from the town to which I had traced my Daub line, the one on
which I was doing the book.
I had used microfilms rented to a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Center – spending several weeks going through the Siegen Evangelical Church records and linking
this Daub family four-generations deep in the nearby town of Eiserfeld.
Immediately upon receiving Rudi’s letter, I replied, and invited him to the family reunion, which was then just a few months off. He replied shortly, saying he would make an effort to attend
the reunion that year, but that it was more likely he would come in a later year.
Included with this reply was a pedigree chart that affirmed the lineage I had documented through the microfilms – as well as extending a number of the maternal lines, and (most incredible of
all) traced the line back even further, using fifteenth and sixteenth century guild registers that were inaccessible in America.
As it turned out, Rudi was able to come that summer to the family reunion – but more on that later.
A year after our initial meeting, I had the opportunity to visit Germany and Rudi took me to a house in Eiserfeld that was built in 1626 by the great-grandfather of my Daub immigrant to
America. The thrill of stepping through the threshold of a house now standing into its fifth century can not be overstated – as well as just seeing first-hand the crude but still legible date stone over the
front door of the house…
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CALENDAR:
August
St. Louis, MO
Through September 25: “Martin Luther – The Reformer Exhibit.” At Concordia Historical Institute. Reservations requested for large groups. Call 314-505-7900 or visit www.csl.edu/LutherExhibit.htm.
Evansville, IN
August 5-7: Volkfest. Call 812-422-1915 or email hgggprint@aol.com.
Jasper, IN
August 5-7: Strassenfest. Call 1-800-968-4578.
Sheboygan, WI
August 5-7: Jaycee Bratwurst Day. Call 920-208-0852.
St. Louis, MO
August 6-8. Strassenfest. Downtown Memorial Plaza. Call 636-225-1730.
Red Lodge, MT
August 6-8: Red Lodge Festival of Nations Ethnic Festival. Call 406-446-1718 or visit www.festivalofnations.us for more information.
Bethlehem, PA
August 6-15: Musikfest. Call 610-332-FEST or visit www.fest.org.
Hunter, NY
August 7-8: German Alps Festival. Call 1-800-HUNTERMTN or visit www.huntermtn.com.
Oberwesel, Germany
August 7 & 21: Fireworks Displays Round Boat Trip Rhine River Lights. For information, visit www.germany-travel.net.
Frankenmuth, MI
August 13-21: Summer Music Fest. Call 1-800-386-6896.
Oregon, OH
August 14: Kornfest. At Oak Shade Grove. Call 419-691-3537.
Buffalo Grove, IL
August 14-15: Cannstatter Volksfest. Call 630-653-1716 or visit www.schwabenverein.org.
San Antonio, TX
August 20: Gartenkonzert. German and American culture and heritage entertainment in music, signing, and dancing, plus selling German food, beer, and wine. Call 210-222-1521.
Baltimore, MD
August 20-22: 104th Annual German Festival. Carroll Park. Call 410-522-4144 or visit www.md-germans.org.
Cinncinnati, OH
August 27-29: German Society’s 34th Annual Oktoberfest. Call 513-742-0060 or visit www.germansociety.com.
Hagerstown, MD
August 28: Augustoberfest. Visit www.augustoberfest.org.
Lititz, PA
August 28: Dutchland Polkateers. Call 717-392-1566.
Harmony, PA
August 28-29: 33rd Annual Harmony Museum Dankfest. Call 724-452-7341 or 888-821-4822.
Newington CT
August 28-29: German Bierfest. Call 860-684-5621 or visit http://www.intelab.com/hsb.
September
Philadelphia, PA
September 4-6: Cannstatter Volkfest’s 132nd Annual Harvest Festival. Call 215-332-0121 or visit www.cvv.philly.com.
Chicago, IL
September 10-12: 84th German American Fest. Call 630-653-3018 or visit www.germanday.com.
Covington, KY
September 10-12: Main Strasse Villiage Oktoberfest. Call 859-491-0458 or visit www.mainstrasse.org.
Agawam,MA
September 11: Springfield Turnverein’s Oktoberfest. Call 413-786-0924.
Chicago, IL
September 11: 39th Annual Von Steuben Parade. Call 630-653-3018 or visit www.germanday.com.
Torrance, CA
September 11: Alpine Village Oktoberfest. Call 310-327-4384.
Holmdel, NY
September 12: Annual German Heritage Festival. Call 609-585-6757 or visit www.ghf-nj.org.
Bethlehem, PA
September 14: Tutt (Brown Bag) Talk: Pennsylvania German Barn Stars and Hex Signs. Call 610-691-0603.
Baltimore, MD
September 16: Edelweiss Club Annual Crab Fest. Contact Joe Walterhofer at 410-465-6848
Frankenmuth, MI
September 16-19: Oktoberfest. Call 1-800-386-8696.
Mount Angel, OR
September 16-19: Oktoberfest. Call 503-845-9440 or visit www.oktoberfest.org.
Bacharach, Germany
September 17: Firework Display Round Boat Trip Rhine River Lights. For information, visit www.germany-travel.net.
San Antonio, TX
September 17: Gartenkonzert. German and American culture and heritage entertainment in music, singing, and dancing, plus selling German food, beer, and wine.
Call 210-222-1521.
Chippewa Falls, WI
September 17-19: Oktoberfest. Call 866-723-0340 or visit www.chippewachamber.org.
Elgin, IL
September 17-19: Fox Valley Oktoberfest. Call 630-830-9322 or visit www.germanfun.org.
Lancaster, PA
September 17-19: Oktoberfest. Call 717-898-8451 after 4 p.m. daily or visit www.lancasterliederkranz.com.
Rochester, NY
September 17-19 and 24-26: Oktoberfest. Call 585-336-6070 or visit www.irondequoit.org/events/oktober.htm.
New York, NY
September 18: 47th Annual German-American Stuebeb Parade. Call 732-279-0733 or visit www.germanparadenyc.org.
Cincinnati, OH
September 18-19: Oktoberfest. Visit http://www.oktoberfest-zinzinnati.com
Franklin Square, NY
September 19: Ompahfest. Sponsored by the Plattduetsche Volksfest Vereen with music direct from Germany. Call 516-354-3131 or visit www.parkrestaurant.com.
Shepardstown, WV
September 19: Oktoberfest. Call 304-876-2551 or visit www.barvarianinnwv.com.
Kansas City, MO
September 24-26: Oktoberfest. Call 1-800-889-0636 or visit www.kcoktoberfest.org.
Leavenworth, WA
September 24-26: Autumn Leaf Fest. For information, call 509-548-5807 or visit www.leavenworth.org.
Palmetto, FL
September 24-26: Oktoberfest. Call 941-722-1639.
Syracuse, NY
September 24-26: The 43rd Annual Great Syracuse Oktoberfest. Call 315-682-2584.
Stowe, VT
September 25-26: Stowe’s Annual Oktoberfest. Call 802-253-8506 or visit www.stoweoktoberfest.com.
LaCrosse, WI
September 24-October 2: Oktoberfest. Call 608-784-3375 or visit www.oktoberfestusa.com.
Serbin, TX
September 26: The Texas Wendish Hertitage Society’s 16th Annual Wendish Fest. Call 979-366-2441 or email wendish@bluebon.net.
Reading, PA
September 30-October 3: Oktoberfest. Call 610-373-3982 or visit www.readingliederkranz.com.
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