Best things to do and see in New Ulm, Minnesota's German town (2024)

In southern Minnesota, New Ulm hangs on to a colorful heritage.

There are few towns more conspicuously American than New Ulm, Minn.

Laid out by the town founders, its wide streets follow an orderly gridtoward downtown, where cars park at an angle in front of boxy brickbusinesses and meat-and-potatoes cafes.

There are softball games and Friday-night fish fries and many friendlypeople. It's the epitome of small-town America-and yet this is atown famous for being German.

There are hints, for sure. On a lonely plaza downtown, the carillonbells of a concrete-and-brick Glockenspiel chime three times a day asanimated figures revolve below, like a cuckoo clock.

Gift shops stock nutcrackers and wood pyramids, and there are gnomes inthe window of the used-books store.

Atop a 70-foot columned dome, the Teutonic folk hero Hermann brandisheshis sword over town.

But at first glance, New Ulm doesn't look or sound much like a Germantown, despite the oompah music the chamber of commerce pipes onto thestreet.

The qualities associated with Germans — thrift, practicality,industriousness — turned out to be such a happy match for small-townAmerica that now it's hard to tell the difference.

Settled by Turners

Ironically, the first New Ulmers were not typical small-towners at all.

They were Turners, members of a society that promoted universaleducation, German culture and physical fitness through gymnastics. Manywere socialists who had fled Germany after the nobility suppressed awave of democratic revolts in 1848.

From groups in Chicago and Cincinnati, they formed a land company that,in 1854, found and bought a site for a town in Minnesota, at theconfluence of the Minnesota and Cottonwood rivers.

Calling themselves "free-thinkers," the Turners advocated theseparation of church and state, women's rights and the abolition ofslavery. They were largely agnostic, and they liked to get together anddrink beer on Sundays.

This enraged such people as Harriet Bishop, a Baptist missionary betterknown as St. Paul's first schoolteacher.

"With no religious restraints, they became strong in wickedness (and)defiant of the restraints of the Gospel," she wrote.

New Ulm has changed over the years. Today, it's politicallyconservative and home of a college and high school operated by theWisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, which is so conservative itdoesn't allow women to vote on church matters or take on any churchroles that involve authority over men.

The people still like to drink beer, though. And New Ulm still is themost German city in Minnesota, with 66 percent of its residents claimingGerman ancestry in the 2000 census, as opposed to 38 percent of thestate at large.

That's why I finally had to take my German-born husband there to seeit. Since arriving here in 1997, he'd been noticing the highwaybillboards: "Discover Germany in Minnesota."

Let the good times roll

Luckily, I knew just where to take him. On previous trips, I'dhobnobbed with masked Narren atFasching, the German equivalent of Mardi Gras.

I'd flapped my elbows to the "Little Chicken Dance" at a New Ulmfestival. And I'd scoured the town's shops for blown-glass ornamentsand Advent calendars at Christmas.

Our first stop was Schell Brewery, whose picturesque grounds are a kindof town square in New Ulm.

It always has been a neighborly place; when the Dakota Indians lay siegeto the town in 1862, the 2-year-old brewery was left unharmed becauseits owners had shared food with them.

August Schell was one of the original Turners and always allowedvisitors to wander the wooded grounds around his 1885 brick home;current proprietor Ted Marti, his great-great-grandson, does the same.

As we drove through the neighborhoods toward the brewery, Torsten madehis first observation about New Ulm.

"I hate to say it, but this looks very tidy," he said.

The town isn't German for nothing. The brewery still has the blackpines that August's son, Otto, brought over from the family hamlet nearthe Black Forest.

As we walked down the paths and past a fanciful fountain designed byGerman-Bohemian artist Anton Gág, one of August Schell's proteges, weheard a sound not unlike a fingernail scraped down a blackboard.

It was coming from a peaco*ck perched on a sawhorse. As soon as it sawus, it jumped onto the grass, shot out its cobalt feathers and began aslow pirouette, like a runway model.

We walked on the Museum of Brewing, which has a handsome Rathskeller andpatio for visitors on the brewery tour.

In the gift shop, T-shirts displayed the Schell slogans: "Never Ask aGnome to Hold Your Beer," "Never Trust a Brewery Under 140 Years Old"and "When You're Surrounded by 14,000 Thirsty Germans, You Better Makea Darn Good Beer!"

Goods from the old country

Shopping always has been a sport in New Ulm, especially for Germangoods.

Downtown, gift shops sell every kind of stein and souvenir. We drovedown Minnesota Street to Domeiers, a small neighborhood grocery that, in1963, began to cater to German-born brides brought home by New Ulmservicemen. It's packed with imported foodstuffs as well as gifts, andsoon I heard a delighted cry.

Torsten was holding a box of chocolate-covered marshmallow cookies, achildhood favorite his family called Moors' heads.

"Some of these things I haven't had in years," he said with a bigsigh. "It's funny, all those memories. It really is true that lovegoes through the stomach."

The most German place in town, of course, is Turner Hall. Completed in1858 and rebuilt after it was destroyed in the 1862 Dakota Conflict, itstill has an active gymnastics and cultural program.

You won't hear much about free-thinking any more, but it's a goodplace to hoist a beer and chat with the locals.

In the Rathskeller, 1873 murals of Rhine castles wrap around threewalls, which also hold such curios as a wood board illustrating thelyrics of the drinking song "Ist das nicht eine Schnitzel Bank."

Preserving culture

Upstairs, the Turner Ladies were holding a fund-raiser, selling cookiesand cinnamon rolls as well as Schmierkuchen, a coffeecake made with prunes andcottage cheese, and jars of homemade sauerkraut and potato salad.

Continuing our rounds, Torsten and I watched a performance of theGlockenspiel and drove up to Hermann Heights Park to visit Hermann, thewarrior who united the Alemannic tribes and routed the Romans from theTeutoberg Forest in 9 A.D.

He's 32 feet of pure pagan, but the town loved him enough to order a$1.1 million renovation.

And we stopped by the Sausage Shop, where Torsten bought a dozen of hisfavorite Landjaeger sausages and the butcher sliced me a sample ofSultz — head cheese.

It wasn't always easy being German in New Ulm. In the days leading upto Prohibition, a temperance speaker called New Ulm "the vilest spot onthe face of the Earth."

At the start of World War I, the governor removed the mayor and cityattorney from office for questioning the war, and the town was viciouslycriticized throughout Minnesota.

Even neighboring Sleepy Eye put up a banner reading "Berlin — 10miles east." And during World War II, out-of-towners who wanted to"kill a German" practiced on Hermann.

But 99 percent of today's population was born American. In 2005, thecity decided to discontinue Heritagefest, which once drew 40,000 peoplefor two weekends of pilsener, pork buns and polka music, much of itperformed by musicians flown in from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

"They just didn't have the younger crowd there, and they're the oneswho drink the beer," says Schell's Marti, whose early-spring Bock Fest hasbecome so successful it nearly overwhelms the brewery.

Heritagefest was succeeded by Bavarian Blast, held downtown aroundGerman Park, amid gardens and a fountain. There's polka but also an artfair, a coffee and wine cafe with classical piano, a street dance, swingbands and events for kids and teens.

Resident Richard Runck told us that visitors need to be patient whenlooking for the German New Ulm.

"The Germans, they come over here with great aspirations of seeing aGerman village, and they're somewhat disappointed," he said.

"It's almost like an archaeological site now. You'll find littlepieces of evidence remaining if you go around town, but as a collection,it's not together. You've got to know what you're looking for beforeyou see it."

From beer to wine

It's no theme park, that's for sure. And this town of supposedlythirsty Germans doesn't even have a beer garden where people can sit onbalmy summer nights.

It does, however, have a truly excellent wine patio. Eight miles east ofNew Ulm, Ted Marti's brother Georg runs Morgan Creek Vineyards, with awinery built into a landscaped hillside.

When we stopped by on a Saturday evening, a jazz trio was playing, Martiwas pouring wine and the stone patio was filled with laughing peopleeating pizza from a wood-fired oven and enjoying a view of bucoliccountryside that included a low red barn and the most magnificent oaktree we'd ever seen.

"It was definitely a selling point when we bought it," Marti said.

The venture, he said, came about entirely through serendipity. Hestumbled across the spot while he was looking for firewood and started awinery after someone suggested he grow grapes.

He serves pizzas because he was looking for an outdoor bread oven, butone of his cooking-class guests who sells them said they make greatpizza.

On a warm spring night, the atmosphere was enchanting.

So we didn't see any half-timbered buildings or geraniums tumblingpicturesquely out of window boxes. But we had a good time, Torsten got ataste of home, and we met a lot of really nice folks.

"What you see here is real and authentic," said Richard Runck. "It'sjust not what people imagine it to be."

Trip Tips: New Ulm, Minnesota

Getting there: It's 1¾ hours west of the Twin Cities, longerduring rush hours.

Annual events: First Saturday in March,Bock Fest atSchell's (for more, see A German MardiGras ).Mid-July, Bavarian Blast in GermanPark. First two weekends of October,Oktoberfest.

Accommodations : Bingham Hall B&B is in astately house on German Street near downtown and has four bedrooms.

At the south end of Broadway, the MicrotelInnhas an indoor pool, 507-354-9800, as does the BestWestern.

Dining: On Minnesota Avenue downtown, Lola's AmericanBistro sandwiches, salads, soups,pasta and dinner entrees.

The Rathskeller at Turner Hall, a block south of downtown at First andState, has a salad bar and German and American food. 507-354-4916.

Downtown, George's Fine Steaks &Spirits serves lamb and duck as well assteaks and seafood, 507-354-7440.

Restaurants that serve German dishes include Veigl'sKaiserhoff, downtown.

Hermann Monument : The spiralstaircase to the top of the dome is open daily from Memorial Day weekendthrough Labor Day, $3.

Glockenspiel: The bells ring and figures twirl at noon, 3 and 5 p.m.;during festivals, also at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Wanda Gag House: The childhoodhome of the "Millions of Cats" author/illustrator is open weekendsfrom mid-May to mid-October.

For more, see The artistic Gags of NewUlm.

Schell Brewerytours: The Bier Halle,gift shop and grounds are open daily year-round. Brewery tours are given daily from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day and Fridays to Sundays the rest of the year, $10.

The brewery also offers an Into the Depths tour on the second or third Thursday of each month, $40, that takes visitors into the historic beer caves and original taproom as well as production facilities.

On the northwest side of town, the Starkeller taproom at 2215 N. Garden St. ages and serves Schell's sour beers.

Morgan Creek Vineyards: Eightmiles east of New Ulm, the winery and gift shop is open Thursday throughSunday from May to October, Friday through Sunday in November andDecember and Saturdays-Sundays in April.

It holds many tastings, dinners and special events. 507-947-3547.

Bicycling: The city has mapped a 13-mile bike route around town.

Flandrau StatePark : Thepark, which adjoins Schell Brewery in a wooded valley on the edge oftown, has campsites, a pool with a sand bottom and 8½ miles of hikingtrails, some on a bluff overlooking the Cottonwood River.

Information: New Ulm tourism, 888-463-9856.

Last updated on January 31, 2022