1

Monument for Franz Daniel Pastorius, the leader of the first group of German immigrants who arrived in Philadelphia on October 6, 1683. It was created by Albert Jaeger and unveiled in Germantown’s Vernon Park in 1920.

2

Christopher Saur’s Bible, printed in Germantown in 1743, was the first Bible to be printed in this country in a European language. A second and third printing were done by his son Christopher, Jr. in 1763 and 1776. The Saur Bible was only preceded by a Bible printed in Algonquin, an American Indian language, by missionaries in 1680; an English-language Bible was not printed in this country until well after the Revolution, in 1782.

Johann Christoph Saur was born in 1693 in Ladenburg (near Heidelberg). Together with other members of the stringently persecuted Protestant "Inspirationalists" sect, he emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1724.

The copy of the Bible, the title page of which is depicted here, was a gift given jointly by the German Government and the Stifterverband für die deutsche Wissenschaft on the occasion of the opening of the Max Kade German-American Research Institute at the Pennsylvania State University.

3

The homestead on Wissahickon Creek outside of Germantown where William Rittenhouse built and operated America’s first paper mill in 1690. Born as Wilhelm Rittenhausen in Mülheim on the Ruhr, he arrived in Philadelphia in 1688. The original building no longer exists. The one depicted here, built around 1707, is the birthplace of David Rittenhouse, the prominent colonial-era astronomer, philosopher and statesman after whom Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square is named.

4

"To bring men hither, and to rob and sell them against their will, we stand against." Five years after their arrival, leaders of the first group of German immigrants penned a formal protest against slavery. The third of the four signatures under the document is that of Francis Daniel Pastorius, who also wrote the text.

Jürgen Eichhoff, „The Three Hundredth Anniversary of the Germantown Protest Against Slavery." Monatshefte 80 (1988), 265-67.

5

In 1671, and again in 1677, William Penn traveled in Germany and in the Netherlands to spread the Quaker doctrines among German Pietists and other religious sectarians. When in 1681, under King Charles II, William Penn was given the proprietorship of a large area of virgin land across the ocean in exchange for a debt the British government owed his father, these Germans were among the first to respond to Penn’s offer to buy land in the new colony.

The German translation of Penn’s Some Account of the Province of Pennsylvania in America, published in 1681, was translated and printed that same year in Amsterdam and Frankfurt. It describes the location, fertile soils, wealth in game and fish and other conditions favorable to immigration.

Only three copies of the brochure have survived. The one depicted here is one of the treasured possessions of the Pennsylvania State University Library.

6

Identical stamps were issued in Germany and the United States to commemorate the 300^th Anniversary of the arrival of the first German immigrants who established a settlement in this country. The settlement, some 6 miles northwest of Philadelphia, was named Germantown. It became a center of German culture in America.

7

In many parts of the Commonwealth, the names of streets tell the story of German immigration—but this one, it must be conceded, is unique.

8

The city of Mannheim was (and is) the capital of the Palatinate, home of the majority of the early immigrants. The Palatinate (die Pfalz) is in today’s Germany part of the state of Rheinland-Pfalz.

9

Drawing by John Lewis (Johann Ludwig) Krimmel. Born in Ebingen (near Stuttgart), Krimmel immigrated to Philadelphia in 1809, at the age of 23.

"Krimmel’s drawings are the earliest currently recorded representations of an American Christmas. They document many German traditions which became common among other Pennsylvanians and in the United States during the latter half of the nineteenth century. [...] Until the midnineteenth century and the adaptation of German customs, English colonists and their descendants had treated Christmas as a minor religious holiday." (Naeve, 184)

It is documented that Christmas trees were set up in 1747 in the Moravian settlement at Bethlehem. They were found occasionally among Pennsylvania Germans in the 1820s but did not become common until the 1840s. The drawing depicted here could refer to a Christmas celebration in 1820, before Krimmel’s career was cut short by his early death in 1821.

Milo M. Naeve, John Lewis Krimmel. An Artist in Federal America. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1987.

10

We thought East Berlin ceased to exist with the fall of the Berlin Wall—but not in Pennsylvania. The town was named Berlin by its founder, John Frankenberger, "out of respect for his German heritage." In 1827, when a post office was established there, the name was changed to East Berlin upon finding out there was another town by that name in the Commonwealth.

11

The street sign was knocked down by a car accident but nevertheless testifies to what was said at # 7.

12

Ephrata Cloister was founded by Conrad Beissel in 1732. A community of "Brothers" and "Sisters" devoted to an ascetic life style, Ephrata became widely known for its peculiar customs, devotion to music, and economic success. The Cloister’s printing press published many of the works of Conrad Beissel, but its most impressive achievement was the printing, in 1748-49, of the Märtyrer-Spiegel, or Martyrs’s Mirror, a 13 pound book of 1,352 pages and the largest book ever printed in Colonial America.

Ephrata Cloister is on the National Register of Historic Places.

13

The town of Aaronsburg was founded in 1786 by Aaron Levy, a merchant and land speculator from Philadelphia. To support his claim that Aaronsburg, because of its central location, might become the State’s capital, Levi laid out "Aaron’s Square", the main street of his town, to be 160 feet wide, sixty feet more than William Penn had laid out his main street, High Street (today Market Street) in Philadelphia. These generous dimensions still today visibly distinguish Aaronsburg from other towns in the area that have very narrow streets.

In order to attract German settlers, Levy set aside lots for the building of churches, and personally donated devotional utensils such as this chalice, which he had crafted for the United German Church.

Note: The chalice is not made from silver but from pewter.

Donald M. Herr, Pewter in Pennsylvania German Churches. Birdsboro, PA: The Pennsylvania German Society, 1995, p. 37.

14

George Long (Georg Lang) purchased 300 acres of land along Penn’s Creek in 1787. After having a survey conducted in 1792, he began selling lots in what became known as Longstown. In 1813, in the legislative act establishing Union County, it was decided that Longstown was the most suitable location for the county seat. In the process, the name of the town was changed to New Berlin "because practically all the settlers in this region were Germans" (Espenshade 164). At this time, forty-five householders lived in the area, all except for one in log houses.

New Berlin. The Early Years 1800-1855. [Flier published by the New Berlin Heritage Association.]

15

The concept of the ‘bank barn’ was brought over from Germany but the art of decorating the barns with hex signs is uniquely Pennsylvania German. The heaviest concentration of such barns is in Berks and Lehigh Counties. Unfortunately, many of them show the ravages of time as farming declines in the valleys and large, opulent new homes are built on the hills.

The barn depicted is located south of Lenhartsville. Normally, the barns in the area are painted the typical barn red color but white ones are not uncommon.

16

This hand drawn New Year’s greeting in the style called Fraktur was made for the miller of Millbach. Many examples of this style, written by individual artists for weddings, baptisms, birthdays and other occasions, have survived. Whereas elements of the style were brought from Germany, the artistic form that developed is uniquely Pennsylvania German.

Ein Herzlichen Neu Jahr Wunsch, an Meinen lieben Nachbar, und Freund,
Michael Miller, und Mary Elisabeth
Ach Daß alte Jahr Verflossen
Heist Daß Neu uns danck
[bar sein. ............ Tausend guts]
Genossen Von dir Groser Gott allein, Allein. Ach
wir preisen Dich dafür, laß denn schwachen Danck
Vor dir, Wie das opffer Noäh taugen. Sieh
uns an mit gnaden Augen. Laß Dein Wort in Zion schallen.
Geh mit Jedem auss und ein: und wann mit Hauffen
Waffen, Wo die Gottes Die[...] sein, Ach so segne Du uns Herr,
Gib auch Treue Prediger, die dein Wort
mit Nutzen lehren, und die Welt zu dir bekehrn.
Nun du Groser welt Regirer, Krön
Das Jahr mit mit deinem gut. Ach sey aller
Menschen Führer, und halt uns in
Deiner hut. Aber solte dieses
Jahr Jemand legen auf die
Bahr, so las uns seelig sterben,
und des Himmels freuden Erben.

Heydelberg in Lancaster Caunty der 1te January 1765 C F

Arts of the Pennsylvania Germans. By Scott T. Swank [et al.]. Published for the Henry Francis DuPont Winterthur Museum. New York: W.W. Norton, 1983, plate 36.

17

Monument for Major General Friedrich Wilhelm Baron von Steuben overlooking the fields of Valley Forge where he drilled George Washington’s army. A former captain in the Prussian army, Steuben came to America at the suggestion of Benjamin Franklin whom he met in Paris. Arriving at Valley Forge in February of 1778, he found George Washington’s army in a deplorable state. His skills in transforming the army into a disciplined fighting force gained him the nickname "Drillmaster of the Revolution."

The statue was erected in 1915 with the support of the National German American Alliance.

18

The Yuengling Brewery prides itself on being the nation’s oldest brewery still in operation. David G. Jüngling arrived in Pottstown in 1829 from the state of Württemberg in southwestern Germany. Lager beer (German, meaning ‘aged beer’), beer brewed according to a process invented in and introduced from Germany, became the most popular brand.

19

New Germany in Cambria County, one of several places named Germany, New Germany, or Germantown, was first settled by Joseph Lang (Long) from Switzerland, but soon thereafter large numbers of German immigrants followed, giving the place its name.

20

The German Society of Pennsylvania was founded in Philadelphia in 1764 to protect German immigrants from exploitation by unscrupulous agents and to help them get a foothold in the New World. The first immigrant society in America, its home houses a library of over 70,000 volumes. Many of the German language books are unique to American libraries, and some are not even found in Germany.

21

Ludwig ("Louis") Miller, was the eighth son and tenth child of Johann Ludwig Miller of Schwäbisch Hall in Württemberg, and Katharina Rothenberger, of Heidelberg in Baden, who in 1771, soon after their marriage, set out for the New World. Born in 1796, young Miller became a carpenter. But soon his passion to see and record everything became apparent. He travelled widely, including to Germany. In his spare time, the "Chronicler of York, Pa." created an abundance of sketches of everyday life in his home town of which the school scene selected for this poster is one. It shows Miller’s father, Ludwig Miller, the teacher of the Lutheran School, teaching his students the German church song, "Führe uns, o Herr, und leite unsern Gang nach deinem Wort." This hymn was translated into English and appears in the Lutheran Book of Worship as hymn number 266 verse 5.

Let my life a conversation be directed by your Word;
By your help and preservation let me live this day, O Lord.
Only when you are with me can my life be wholly free.

Also depicted is the text of another German hymn. In the upper right corner is described, in English, a visit of young Miller with the local doctor. Finally, there was room to show an hour glass and to explain how it works. (A listing of the names of the 55 boys and 41 girls in the class, constituting the lower half of the page, is not pictured here.)

Lewis Miller, Sketches and Chronicles. The reflections of a nineteenth century Pennsylvania German folk artist. Introduction by Donald A. Shelley. York, Pennsylvania: The Historical Society of York County, plate 41.

22

Strasburg is named after the city of Straßburg (Strassburg) in Alsace, now in France and spelled Strasbourg, which was the home area of a large number of German immigrants to Pennsylvania.

23

The small village of Appenzell, named after Appenzell in Switzerland, is not the center of a large Swiss settlement in Monroe County. However, many of the Palatines who settled in Pennsylvania were originally from Switzerland, and there are places such as Berne and Bernville which were so named after the city of Bern, because of Swiss colonies in the area.

24

The German word for the Christmas tree is widely known all over the country, as is attested to in this sign on the road near State College.

25

It was in order to propagate his political ideas among the Germans that Benjamin Franklin printed the first newspaper in the German language in 1732. It is said that the Germans did not like the paper. For once, it was printed in Roman type rather than the fraktur type they were used to, and secondly, they liked neither Franklin’s political ideas nor him as a person; after all, he had called them "those Palatine boors".

26

Marker in the center of St. Marys telling the town’s history.

27

The town of Lititz (see #31) claims to house the country’s first pretzel bakery. The name pretzel is from a dialect variant of the German word Brezel, which is pronounced about the same way except for the soft initial consonant. Ultimately, the word comes from the Latin brachiatellum, which means "twisted arms", like when one twists one’s arms in front of the chest.

28

The bridge crossing the Monongahela river near Pittsburgh, visible to the right, was designed and built in 1846 by Johann Augustus Röbling, an immigrant from Saxony and one of the co-founders of Sachsenburg, now Saxonburg, in Butler County. Röbling, or Roebling, as he became known in this country, replaced the chain cables previously used to hold up bridges with wire-rope cables. In 1867, he built a bridge across the Ohio River in Cincinnati, which is still standing, and went on to build New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, "the eighth wonder of the world" which was dedicated in 1883.

Hamilton Schuyler, The Roeblings. A Century of Engineers, Bridge-builders and Industrialists. The Story of Three Generations of an Illustrious Family, 1831-1931. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1931.

29

The Amish, followers of Mennonite priest Jakob Ammann who broke away from the Mennonite flock in 1693, emigrated to America from Alsace during the early 1800s. Also depicted is a covered bridge, again a feature not unknown in Europe but brought to perfection by the Pennsylvania Germans.

Steven M. Nolt, A History of the Amish. Intercourse, PA: Good Books, 1992; John A. Hostetler, Amish Society. 4^th ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993; Benjamin D. Evans/June R. Evans, Pennsylvania’s Covered Bridges: A complete guide. [Pittsburgh, PA]: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2001.

30

Heckman Cemetery, Gregg Township. The marker reads: "Hier ruhet der Leib von Wilhelm Long, einen revolutions Soldat, war geboren im Jahr 1755, starb Juny 20, 1830; im 75 Jahr seines Alters." ("Here rests the corpse of Wilhelm Long, a revolutionary soldier. [He] was born in the year 1755, died June 20, 1830; in the 75^th year of his age."

31

Lititz was the name given a settlement laid out in 1757 by followers of Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf, to commemorate the three hundredth anniversary of the year (1456) when King Podiebrad of Bohemia invited the followers of John Hus, the Czech reformer persecuted by the Catholic Church, to take refuge on his castle at Lititz (the German name of what today is Lidice) near Prague. Practically wiped out after the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), they again found refuge, this time in the community of Herrnhut (‘in the protection of the Lord’) in Saxony, owned by Zinzendorf. This nobleman invited to his lands all who, in continental Europe as well as in England, were persecuted for the sake of their faith. Named Herrnhuter in Germany, they became known in this country as Moravians (after a province in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, now part of the western Czech Republic, whence many of them came), when Zinzendorf began to play an active part in the Evangelical movement in England and America. The first Moravian settlement in American was Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, which was given its name by Zinzendorf in a church service conducted there on Christmas Eve, 1741.

32

In the 1980s, the Borough of Ambridge, of which Old Economy Village is a part, designed special signs for the streets neighboring the historic site.

33

In 1903, a small community of German residents split from Collier Township and formed the borough of Heidelberg, named after the town in Germany.

34

Generations of students have developed a feel for gemütlichkeit in the Rathskeller, the popular haven for enjoying beer, food and friendship right across the street from the Penn State campus.

In German cities, the Ratskeller is the restaurant typically found in the basement of the Rathaus, or city hall. Nineteenth century immigrants brought the word to the U.S. together with the "h" which was abolished in Germany in a spelling reform in 1901.

35

Nearly 800 adherents of Georg Rapp’s (1757-1847) pietistic-apocalyptic doctrine, who had been persecuted because of their faith, emigrated from Iptingen (near Stuttgart) in southwestern Germany in 1804. Farmers and skilled craftsmen, they founded, in succession, the settlements of Harmonie ("Harmony") in Pennsylvania (1805), Neu Harmonie („New Harmony") in Indiana (1815), and Ökonomie ("Economy") in Pennsylvania (1824), where they held property in common. In 1807, they adopted celibacy in order to purify themselves for the Millennium, Christ’s thousand-year reign on earth, which they believed was imminent. Still highly successful in their economic pursuits, as well as in their cultural and scientific studies, they nevertheless declined for lack of offspring.

Their last settlement, now called Old Economy Village north of Pittsburgh on the Ohio, was placed under the administration of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1919. It has been restored and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Karl J. R. Arndt, George Rapp’s Harmony Society 1785-1847. Rev. ed. Rutherford [etc.]: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.