Milwaukee: Discovering the German Culture

In the U.S. state of Wisconsin, Milwaukee is the largest city in terms of land area. The city is also ranked as the 30th most populous in the whole United States. Milwaukee is the seat of government of Milwaukee County, which is situated on Lake Michigan, specifically on its southwestern shore. The population of Milwaukee reached a total of 594, 833, as recorded by the 2010 census. In addition, the city is part of the Milwaukee-Racine-Waukesha Metropolitan Area, and serves as its economic and cultural center.

Through the years, many Americans marveled about the German ties and culture that the Milwaukee City has. They hold their German traditions annually and even let academic institutions include a German language immersion among Grade K-5 kids. The German culture of Milwaukee dates back before the incorporation of the city. Europeans were traveling back and forth the Milwaukee site for different reasons. The majority of them were fur traders and French-Catholic missionaries. A French-Canadian explorer by the name of Solomon Juneau was the first to settle in the area. He called his settlement “Juneau’s town”. By the year 1846, Juneau’s town was combined with other areas nearby. The merged settlements became the official city of Milwaukee. The term “Milwaukee” originated from the Potawatomi language; a revision of the word “minwaking”, which translates to the “gathering place by the water”.

The creation of the city marked the arrival of the German immigrants. Large numbers of Germans constituted a significant portion of the population in the past. During the 1840s, the Germans began sharing their culture to the original settlers. Since most of the old settlers are European, they let the culture spread and incorporated some traditions to the city’s annual activities such as the Oktoberfest and German Festival. In the 21st century, the culture of Germans is still strongly felt by locals and tourists alike. The history of German-American immigrants in Milwaukee had led to the development of another city nickname. Nowadays, Milwaukee is known as Deutsch-Athens, which translates to German Athens. Other nicknames that were caused by the German culture are Brew City and Milltown.

Brew City is truly an apt nickname because the city is known for their large breweries that date back to the time when German immigrants are still in Milwaukee. With all the processing of barley and hops, Milwaukee became synonymous with beer. Milwaukee is even home to a world-class brewery named Miller Brewing Company, which is also the inspiration for the other nickname, Milltown.