Frankenmuth - Michigan's Little Bavaria by Kaartijer

Photography • Collage • posted on Apr 05, 2010

Open full image in new tab Zoom on image

Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.

Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.

Description

First of all, no joke for today!!! Now, I made two collages of Frankenmuth, or you may call them "postcards", but I'm not decided which one looks better... maybe y'all help me make up my mind! Try it at full size! A short history of Frankenmuth, MI The idea of founding Frankenmuth was first fostered due to a German missionary named Frederick Wyneken working in the states of Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. In 1840 he wrote an appeal to all the Lutherans in Germany for help, telling them of the hardships of the German pioneers in his region and of their lack of pastors, churches, and schools. This appeal struck the heart of Wilhelm Loehe, pastor of the country church in Neuendettelsau, Mittelfranken, Kingdom of Bavaria. Loehe was a popular and influential preacher in his time because of his strict adherence to church doctrines at a time when rationalism was more commonly preached. He organized a mission society, still operating today, and began training teachers and pastors for work in the United States. His idea formulated in 1844, was an experiment to send a mission congregation with a dual purpose: to give spiritual comfort to the German pioneers in the Midwest, specifically the Saginaw Valley, and to show the native Indians in the area "Wie gut und schoen es ist Jesus zu sehen" (how good and wonderful it is to see Jesus). Loehe wrote the pastor of a Swabian settlement in Michigan to recommend a site for his mission colony. He approved the location along the Cass River in Michigan, naming it "Frankenmuth". The German word "Franken" represents the Province of Franconia in the Kingdom of Bavaria, and the German word "Muth" means courage, thus the city name Frankenmuth means "courage of the Franconians". Thirteen people, mostly farmers from the area around Neuendettelsau (eight were from Rosstal) volunteered to form the colony. Loehe selected Pastor August Craemer, a graduate of Erlangen University who was, in 1844, teaching German at Oxford, England, to train to be the mission colony's pastor and leader. The colonists had meetings during the 1844-45 winter to discuss the founding of their colony and to set down their congregation's constitution. It defined the colonists' responsibilities to each other and the church, and it outlined the colony's government. Frankenmuth was to be an exclusively German-Lutheran community, and the colonists pledged to remain loyal to Germany and faithful to the German language. The emigrants departed from Nuernberg on April 5, 1845 and traveled by foot, wagons, and trains to Bremerhafen, where they bought the provisions for their voyage. On April 20 they boarded the CAROLINE, where four engaged couples in the party were married, since they hadn't been able to satisfy the strict German marriage law requirements. The trip began with a bad start, as the drunken captain steered the ship into a sand bank of the Weser River. Because of winds and storms, they had to sail around Scotland instead of through the English Channel. Their journey across the Atlantic encountered violent storms, seasickness, a nightmare collision with an English trawler, and undesirable winds which drove the ship north into icebergs and dense fog for three days. The ship was damp and overcrowded, and their food became stale. Toward the end of the journey almost everyone in the group contracted smallpox, and a child in the party died from it. They reached New York Harbor on June 8, after 50 days of sailing. To reach Michigan, they took a steamboat, a train (which collided with a coal train, giving them only slight injuries), and another steamboat. They took another steamer to Detroit and then a sailing ship on Lake Huron for a week-long trip to Bay City. From there they had to pull the ship 15 miles up the Saginaw River to Saginaw, where they stayed until their exact settlement site was chosen. They were objects of curiosity to the French and English of the city because of their Franconian dress and habits. To be continued!

Comments (41)

)

tennesseecowgirl

6:11PM | Mon, 05 April 2010

It reminds me of a town in California called Solvang which is a charming Danish village. And wow what a journey they had, I was worn out just reading about their adventures.. Beautiful work.

)

alessimarco

6:13PM | Mon, 05 April 2010

It would make a terrific postcard! I have actually been to this charming little town, but didn't know all the history you provided. Thanks! Great work!

)

jocko500

6:33PM | Mon, 05 April 2010

wow those people went thought the fire but here they work stands...wonderful history and images

)

lior

6:44PM | Mon, 05 April 2010

Superb collage!

)

clbsmiley

6:44PM | Mon, 05 April 2010

Love the waterfall in the middle.

)

annie5

6:45PM | Mon, 05 April 2010

A charming town..super captures! Excellent collage :)

)

magnus073

6:59PM | Mon, 05 April 2010

This is such a wonderful collage Eddie and the history of this area really is rich and now you have me wanting to visit it. Love the paddle boat, it really is a classic.

)

zil2008

7:04PM | Mon, 05 April 2010

Wonderful collage. Beautiful town.

)

lizzibell

7:20PM | Mon, 05 April 2010

Great captures...

)

Madbat

7:37PM | Mon, 05 April 2010

WEll, so far having seen one collage thingy, I like this one best heehee. Actually, I do like it, it's really nicely presented. From Drunken captains to smallpox, you realize that'll give moving a bad name!

)

blondeblurr

8:01PM | Mon, 05 April 2010

So, where is the other collage...for comparison ? It looks o.k., but IMHO I think you should have 'squared up' (horizonline) on the centre pic with the waterfall (also, it isn't very sharp) it doesn't look so good, if you want to sell this product to tourists, Eddie. Good effort for starters, let's see the rest ! BB

)

Sea_Dog

8:05PM | Mon, 05 April 2010

Well done. This looks like a great place to visit. What a story this place has, thanks for sharing it.

)

Kaartijer

8:27PM | Mon, 05 April 2010

@ BB Thanks for the critique! Well, I'm not trying to sell anything, everything I do, I do it just for fun. The waterfall originally was sharp, I made it blurry, and about the horizon line, I straightened up already, but yes, you're right, I thought it was enough... The other collage will be tomorrow... or after tomorrow...

)

schonee

8:31PM | Mon, 05 April 2010

I love the all Eddie...I don agree just straighten the waterfall one up and your all set. Beautiful work!

)

bmac62

9:03PM | Mon, 05 April 2010

OMG, what an odessey these immigrants had to endure. I like this collage or post card because it reminds me so much of Bavaria where I lived with my family in the 1970s. Well done Eddie!

)