German Uruguayans

The German Uruguayans in Uruguay numbers ca. 10,000 German expatriates and 40,000 people of German descent. Most of them live in the Montevideo area, although there are German minorities in Paysandú, 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 Charrúas.

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: there are four Mennonite settlements - Colonia Nicolich, El Ombú, Gartental, and Colonia Delta.

There is also an important presence of German Jews, with religious activities at the NCI Synagogue.[citation needed]

Institutions

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

German School Montevideo (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 Circle

There are also local offices of German institutions:

Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Uruguay
Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Uruguay
The Goethe-Institut offers courses on German language and culture.

Historic German schools:

Deutsche Schule El-Ombu
Deutsche Schule Gartental
Deutsche Schule Delta (La Boyado)
Deutsche Schule Paysandú

Notable people

Arts and entertainment

Erika Büsch, musician
Luis Camnitzer, artist
Jorge Drexler, musician and doctor
Enrique Graf, pianist
Carlos Grethe, painter and academician
Andrés Neumann, cultural entrepreneur
Carlos Ott, 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 (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)
Roberto Kreimerman (Frente Amplio; minister in the cabinet of José Mujica)
Andrés Ojeda Spitz (Colorado; presidential candidate, later senator)

Sports

Nicole Frank, swimmer
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

Scientists

Daniel Altschuler, physician
Elio García-Austt, neuroscientist
Mariana Meerhoff, biologist
Cornelius Osten, botanist
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

External links

2013-05-13 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)