The German Uruguayans in

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

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

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

descent. Most of them live in the

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

area, although there are German minorities in

Paysandú Paysandú () is the capital and most populous city of the Paysandú Department in western Uruguay. Located on the banks of the Uruguay River, it is the country's List of cities in Uruguay, fourth-largest city and a vital cultural and economic hu ...

, Río Negro, San José and Canelones.

History

One of the first Germans to come to the region was Ulrich Schmidl (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 are 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 themselves ...

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 a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

: there are four Mennonite settlements - Colonia Nicolich, El Ombú, Gartental, and Colonia Delta. There is also an important presence of

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

, with religious activities at the NCI Synagogue.

Institutions

German immigrants established several institutions of their own, among others: * German School Montevideo (, established 1857) * German Evangelical Community () * German Cultural and Social Work () * German Club (, established 1866) * Uruguayan-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (, established 1916) * German Rowing Club Montevideo (, established 1922) * German Male Choir () * Alpine Club Montevideo (, established 1934) * Bertolt Brecht House (, established 1964) * German-Uruguayan Cultural Association () * German Cultural Association Paysandú () * German-Uruguayan Friendship CircleGerman institutions in Uruguay
There are also local offices of German institutions: * Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Uruguay *

Konrad Adenauer Foundation The Konrad Adenauer Foundation ('' German: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: KAS'') is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The foundation's head ...

in Uruguay * The

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (; GI, ''Goethe Institute'') is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit German culture, cultural organization operational worldwide with more than 150 cultural centres, promoting the study of the German language abroad and en ...

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

Archive
.

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

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

Notable people

Arts and entertainment

* Erika Büsch, musician * Luis Camnitzer, artist *

Jorge Drexler Jorge Abner Drexler Prada (born September 21, 1964) is a Uruguayan musician and actor. In 2004, Drexler won wide acclaim after becoming the first Uruguayan to win an Academy Award, which he won for composing the song " Al Otro Lado del Río" f ...

, musician and doctor * Enrique Graf, pianist * Carlos Grethe, painter and academician * Andrés Neumann, cultural entrepreneur *

Carlos Ott Carlos Adolfo Ott (born October 16, 1946) is a Uruguayans, Uruguayan-Canadians, Canadian architect. He became famous when he won the international design competition in 1983 for the construction of the Opéra Bastille in Paris, which was inaugu ...

, architect * Carlos Rehermann, novelist and playwright * Erwin Schrott, opera singer * Carla Witte, painter * Patricia Wolf, model and television personality * Paula Einöder, poet and writer

Politics

* Pedro Carve (Colorado; President of the Chamber of Deputies, 1876) *

Carlos Fischer Carlos Lorenzo Fischer Brusoni (1903 – 7 August 1969) was a Uruguayan political figure. He was President of the Uruguayan National Council of Government from 1958 to 1959, at the end of a long period of rule by Presidents of the Colorado Party ...

(Colorado; President of the National Council of Government, 1958–1959) *

Héctor Grauert Héctor Grauert (1907–1991) was a Uruguayan political figure. Background He was a lawyer by profession. His brother Julio César Grauert was a Colorado Party Deputy. Public offices He was elected a Deputy in 1942 and subsequently a Senator. He ...

(Colorado; representative, minister, and member of the NCG) *

Julio César Grauert Julio César Grauert (1902–1933) was a Uruguayan journalist and political figure. Background He was a lawyer by profession. His brother Héctor Grauert (1907–1991) was active in politics. Public office A member of the Uruguayan Colorado Part ...

(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 Mario (; ) is a character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the '' Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Nintendo. ...

(Blanco; representative and senator) * Luis Alberto Heber (Blanco; senator, later minister in the cabinet of

Luis Lacalle Pou Luis Alberto Aparicio Alejandro Lacalle Pou (, ; born 11 August 1973), is a Uruguayan politician and lawyer, who served as the 42nd president of Uruguay from 2020 to 2025. The son of former president Luis Alberto Lacalle, Lacalle Pou attended ...

) * Roberto Kreimerman (Frente Amplio; minister in the cabinet of

José Mujica José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano (20May 193513May 2025) was a Uruguayan politician, revolutionary and farmer who served as the 40th president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015. A former guerrilla with the Tupamaros, he was tortured and imprisone ...

) * Andrés Ojeda Spitz (Colorado; presidential candidate)

Sports

* Nicole Frank, swimmer *

Carlos Grossmüller Carlos Javier Grossmüller (born 4 May 1983) is a Uruguayan association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Career Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Grossmüller began his footballi ...

, 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

Scientists

* Daniel Altschuler, physician * Elio García-Austt, neuroscientist * Mariana Meerhoff, biologist * Bernardo Rosengurtt, botanist and agrostologist * Lucía Spangenberg, bioinformatician researcher at the Pasteur Institute of Montevideo

Other professions

* Otto Langmann, pastor * Siegbert Rippe, commercial jurist * Ernesto Schmitt, entrepreneur * Rodolfo Wirz, Roman Catholic bishop of Maldonado and Punta del Este

References

External links

German presence in Uruguay
{{Ethnic groups in Uruguay * *