The German community in

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

numbers ca. 10,000 German expatriates and 40,000 people of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

descent. Most of them live in the

Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern co ...

area, although there are German minorities in

Paysandú Paysandú () is the capital of Paysandú Department in western Uruguay. Location The city is located on the banks of the Uruguay River, which forms the Argentina–Uruguay border, border with Argentina. It lies northwest of Montevideo via Rout ...

, Río Negro, San José and Canelones.

History

One of the first Germans to come to the region was

Ulrich Schmidl Ulrich Schmidl or Schmidel (1510 in Straubing - 1579 in Regensburg) was a German Landsknecht, conquistador, explorer, chronicler and councilman. Schmidl was, beside Hans Staden, one of the few Landsknechts who wrote down their experiences of trave ...

(known locally as Ulrico Smidel), who arrived at the oriental shores of the River Plate in the early 16th century and described the

Charrúa The Charrúa were an indigenous people or Indigenous Nation of the Southern Cone in present-day Uruguay and the adjacent areas in Argentina ( Entre Ríos) and Brazil ( Rio Grande do Sul). They were a semi-nomadic people who sustained themsel ...

s. The 2011 Uruguayan census revealed 1,167 people who declared Germany as their country of birth.

Religion

Local Germans practise different Christian religions: *Roman Catholic: the Pallottine Fathers, with presence at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes. *Evangelical Church: with its own temple at Juan Manuel Blanes 1116 in Montevideo. *

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the R ...

: there are four Mennonite settlements -

Colonia Nicolich General Seregni (former Colonia Nicolich) is a town in the Canelones Department of southern Uruguay. Colonia Nicolich is also the name of the municipality to which the town belongs and which includes the areas Colinas de Carrasco (Empalme) and V ...

El Ombú El Ombú is a Mennonite agricultural settlement in Río Negro Department, Uruguay. It is located 284 km NW of Montevideo and 29 km SE of Young, near the Route 3. Established in 1950 by Vistula delta Mennonites who came from West Pr ...

Gartental Gartental is a Mennonite agricultural settlement in Río Negro Department, Uruguay. It is located NW of Montevideo, near San Javier, Uruguay, San Javier, not far from Route 24 (Uruguay), Route 24. Established in 1951 by Vistula delta Mennonites ...

, and

Colonia Delta Colonia Delta is a Mennonite agricultural settlement in San José Department, Uruguay. It is located 97 km west of Montevideo, near the Arroyo Pavón, not far from Route 1 (Uruguay), Route 1. Established in 1955 by Vistula delta Mennonites wh ...

. There is also an important presence of

German Jews The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...

, with religious activities at the NCI Synagogue.

Institutions

German immigrants established several institutions of their own, among others: *

German School Montevideo Colegio y Liceo Alemán de Montevideo (formal Spanish name). ( en, German School of Montevideo) is one of the most prestigious schools in Uruguay. It was established in 1857 for the children of German traders, artists, engineers and diplomats liv ...

(german: Deutsche Schule Montevideo, established 1857) * German Evangelical Community (german: Deutsch-Evangelische Gemeinde Montevideo) * German Cultural and Social Work (german: Deutsches Kultur- und Hilfswerk) * German Club (german: Deutscher Klub, established 1866) * Uruguayan-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (german: Deutsch-Uruguayische Industrie- und Handelskammer, established 1916) * German Rowing Club Montevideo (german: Deutscher Ruderverein Montevideo, established 1922) * German Male Choir (german: Deutscher Männerchor) * Alpine Club Montevideo (german: Alpenländer Verein Montevideo, established 1934) * Bertolt Brecht House (german: Bertolt-Brecht-Haus, established 1964) * German-Uruguayan Cultural Association (german: Deutsch-Uruguayische Kulturvereinigung) * German Cultural Association Paysandú (german: Deutsche Kulturvereinigung Paysandú) * German-Uruguayan Friendship CircleGerman institutions in Uruguay
There are also local offices of German institutions: *

Friedrich Ebert Foundation The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (''German: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: FES'') is a German political party foundation associated with, but independent from, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Established in 1925 as th ...

in Uruguay *

Konrad Adenauer Foundation The Konrad Adenauer Foundation (german: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, KAS) is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The foundation's headquarters are located in Sank ...

in Uruguay * The

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange ...

offers courses on German language and culture. Historic German schools:Deutscher Bundestag 4. Wahlperiode Drucksache IV/3672

Archive
.

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Comm ...

(West Germany). 23 June 1965. Retrieved on 12 March 2016. p. 29/51. * Deutsche Schule El-Ombu * Deutsche Schule

* Deutsche Schule Delta (La Boyado) * Deutsche Schule

Notable people

Arts and entertainment

Erika Büsch Erika Büsch Guadalupe (born 22 October 1974) is a Uruguayan popular music composer, guitarist, and singer. Biography Artistic field Büsch's first artistic studies took place at the National Dance School, where she took classes in the history of ...

, musician *

Luis Camnitzer Luis Camnitzer (born November 6, 1937) is a German-born Uruguayan artist, curator, art critic, and academic who was at the forefront of 1960s Conceptual Art. Camnitzer works primarily in sculpture, printmaking, and installation, exploring topics ...

, artist *

Jorge Drexler Jorge Abner Drexler Prada (born September 21, 1964) is a Uruguayan musician, actor and doctor specializing in otolaryngology. In 2004, Drexler won wide acclaim after becoming the first Uruguayan to win an Academy Awards, Academy Award, which he ...

, musician and doctor * Andrés Neumann, cultural entrepreneur *

Carlos Ott Carlos Ott (born October 16, 1946, in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan architect who resides in Canada and many other countries. He became famous when he won his first prize in 1983 (among 744 architects from all over the world) for the construction ...

, architect * Carlos Rehermann, novelist and playwright * Erwin Schrott, opera singer *

Carla Witte Carla Witte (20 May 1889 – 8 May 1943) was a German Uruguayan, German-Uruguayan painter, sculptor, and teacher. Biography Carla Witte was born in Leipzig, a German city in Saxony on 20 May 1889, and studied plastic arts in Berlin. In 1927, sh ...

, painter

Politics

Carlos Fischer Carlos Lorenzo Fischer Brusoni (1903 – 7 August 1969) was a Uruguayan political figure. He was President of Uruguay from 1958 to 1959, at the end of a long period of rule by Presidents of the Colorado Party not to be resumed by that party until 1 ...

(Colorado; President of the National Council of Government, 1958-1959) * Héctor Grauert (Colorado; representative, minister, and member of the NCG) * Julio César Grauert (Colorado hero, opposed the Dictatorship of Terra) * Tabaré Hackenbruch (Colorado, three-term mayor of Canelones Department) * Alberto Heber (Blanco; President of the National Council of Government, 1966-1967) * Mario Heber (Blanco; representative and senator) * Luis Alberto Heber (Blanco; senator, later minister in the cabinet of

Luis Lacalle Pou Luis Alberto Aparicio Alejandro Lacalle Pou (; ''Luis Lacalle'' locally or ; born 10 August 1973) is a Uruguayan politician and lawyer serving as President of Uruguay since 1 March 2020. Son of former president Luis Alberto Lacalle, Lacalle P ...

) * Roberto Kreimerman (Frente Amplio; minister of Industry, Energy and Mining in the cabinet during José Mujica's presidency)

Sports

* Carlos Grossmüller, footballer * Gary Kagelmacher, footballer * Dominique Knüppel, Olympic sailor * Nicolás Klappenbach, rugby union player * Martín Kutscher, swimmer * Paul Kutscher, swimmer * Sergio Orteman, footballer * Gerardo Vonder Pütten, footballer

Other professions

* Daniel Altschuler, physician * Elio García-Austt, neuroscientist *

Otto Langmann Otto Langmann (1898-1956) was a German pastor and diplomat. In November 1923 he married Ilse Siefert, with whom he had four children. He was appointed parish priest in Mecklenburg. In 1928 he went to Colombia and Ecuador. In 1930, in Guatemala ...

, pastor * Mariana Meerhoff, biologist *

Siegbert Rippe Siegbert Rippe (born 23 May 1936 in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan lawyer and jurist. He specialized in commercial law Commercial law, also known as mercantile law or trade law, is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and condu ...

, commercial jurist * Bernardo Rosengurtt, botanist and agrostologist *

Ernesto Schmitt Ernesto Gottfried Schmitt (born August 1971) is an American-born serial entrepreneur and investor. He is co-founder of The Craftory, a $600m venture capital fund for cause-driven challenger brands in the consumer goods space. Born in Cinci ...

, entrepreneur *

Rodolfo Wirz Rodolfo Pedro Wirz Kraemer (born 19 April 1942 in Schwarzrheindorf near Bonn, Germany) is a Uruguayan Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shar ...

, Roman Catholic bishop of Maldonado and Punta del Este

References

External links

German presence in Uruguay
{{Ethnic groups in Uruguay

European Uruguayan Immigration to Uruguay Ethnic groups in Uruguay