Wednesday, 28 February 2018 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: North America / Nordamerika Category/Kategorie: GeneralReading Time: 6minutes
Frankenmuth is a city in Saginaw County in Michigan. The population is at 5,000. The city is located within Frankenmuth Township survey area. Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, which bills itself as “the World’s Largest Christmas Store”, is located in Frankenmuth. The city’s name is a combination of two words. “Franken” represents the Province of Franconia in the Kingdom of Bavaria, home of the Franks, where the original settlers were from. The German word “Mut” means courage; thus, the name Frankenmuth means “courage of the Franconians.” The most popular nickname is “Little Bavaria”, but the city is also nicknamed “Muth”. The strong influence of Franconian-style architecture can be found in most areas of the city. Most buildings in the commercial district, as well as many homes, feature stylistic interpretations of the timber-framed buildings found in the Franconia region of Germany. This style is marked by the use of timbers in “square” and “X” patterns on the outside of buildings, as well as the use of “X” patterns on windows, doors, and other building features.
Tourism and farming drive the local economy. Frankenmuth draws over three million tourists annually to its Bavarian-themed shops and restaurants such as the Bavarian Inn, Frankenmuth Brewery, Zehnder’s, and Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland. Frankenmuth also attracts tourists with festivals and other events throughout the year. Zehnder’s Holz Brucke (German for wooden bridge) is a wooden covered bridge, built in a style similar to that of the Black Forest or a river valley in Switzerland, located over the Cass River in the middle of town. Though completed in 1979, the structure is constructed using traditional covered-bridge timber framing techniques. The floor joists and three-span Town lattice truss system of the 239′ bridge are made of 15,960 board feet of four inch planks. The portion receiving the greatest wear is of oak while the remaining portion is spruce. 20,000 board feet of Douglas Fir make up the rafters and the roof is shingled with cedar. An additional 4,340 board feet of pine was required for the bridge side boards. In addition to two lanes for automobile traffic, the bridge also has two pedestrian walkways. Heritage Park is Frankenmuth’s most well-known park. It is located at 601 Weiss Street and is home to many community activities, festivals and large events. The Harvey E. Kern Community Pavilion is the newest addition and has become a focal point of the park. The park also features 4 picnic pavilions, 3 ball diamonds, playgrounds, sand volleyball courts, basketball court, riverwalk pathway (0.9 miles) and several facilities for festivals. In addition to tourism, a significant number of residents in and around the community work in agriculture.
In 1990, Frankenmuth celebrated its first Oktoberfest. The Frankenmuth Oktoberfest celebrates German culture, heritage and love. Frankenmuth has a unique German heritage and culture. The Frankenmuth Oktoberfest strives to preserve and share the sights and sounds as well as the food and drink of the Munich Oktoberfest. The goal of the festival is to also retain and celebrate the local Bavarian heritage of the region. Frankenmuth is the first Oktoberfest outside of Munich to be sanctioned by the Parliament and the City of Munich. When Lord Mayor Christian Ude and the German Parliament from Munich gave the official proclamation in 1996, Frankenmuth’s Oktoberfest was declared the first Oktoberfest to operate with the blessing of the original Oktoberfest in Munich. With this proclamation, the event was moved into September to coincide with the opening of the Munich event. Also, for the first time in history, the world-famous Hofbräuhaus brewery of Munich exported their beer to the United States. Local businessman, Fred Schumacher and later President of Hofbräuhaus of America took care of the formalities to get the beer to Frankenmuth in time for the Oktoberfest.
Frankenmuth Bavarian Festival: This is Michigan’s largest Bavarian heritage festival. Beginning in 1959, it is an annual summer celebration of Bavarian culture and values through food, drink, traditional activities and music.
