7 towns travelers should visit in America’s most German state

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German Americans make up one of the nation’s largest ancestry groups, with nearly 45 million people claiming German roots. But if you want to see where that heritage runs deepest, the latest Census data points to one clear answer: Pennsylvania. The state has more residents who identify as “German only” than any other—about 1.1 million, according to the 2020 Census.

Broaden the lens to include people who list German ancestry alongside other backgrounds, and the total climbs to roughly 2.8 million, which is the largest German American population out of any state. Nearly 1 in 4 Pennsylvanians has German roots, a fact worth noting as Christmas markets pop up across the U.S. this fall and winter.

Pennsylvania has been a hub of German settlement for more than three centuries. William Penn encouraged immigrants from the Rhineland to settle in the Quaker state during the late 1600s, and by the eve of the American Revolution, some 65,000 Germans had arrived through Philadelphia. They founded towns, farms and traditions that still endure. Today, Pennsylvania is still dotted with pretzel bakeries, Christkindlmarkts, and even New Year’s celebrations timed to midnight in Germany.

To see how those roots live on, Experience Butler County PA spoke with local historians and community leaders. Their stories, alongside snapshots from other German-founded destinations like Bethlehem, Kutztown, and Pittsburgh’s Deutschtown, paint a portrait of the places where Pennsylvania’s German heritage is still alive today.

Courtesy of Experience Butler County

Harmony

Location: 30 miles north of Pittsburgh
Year founded: 1804

When it was a new colony, Pennsylvania’s appeal lay in the fact that it welcomed religious outsiders. William Penn’s promise of freedom drew Quakers, Amish, Mennonites, Moravians and eventually, in 1804, about 800 German immigrants led by preacher George Rapp. They settled in Harmony, where they lived out their beliefs that Christians should live communally, share everything, and devote themselves fully to faith. On the Pennsylvania frontier, they cleared wilderness, planted orchards, and built more than 100 homes, workshops, and a central plaza in less than a decade.

“They built about 130 buildings, so it was a pretty large town,” said Kathy Luek, president of the Harmony Museum. Today, visitors can still walk the same square. Come Dec. 31, the town gathers to ring in New Year’s Eve six hours early at a ball drop in conjunction with Germany’s time zone.

German roots and heritage

Most of Harmony’s first residents were farmers, weavers, and carpenters from Württemberg, a hilly region in southwest Germany near Stuttgart. “They were craftspeople. They were able to do everything,” Luek explained.

After a decade, the Harmony Society moved west. Their place was taken by Mennonites, a German-speaking Christian community known for pacifism, large families, and simple living. Their arrival in 1814 kept the German language, foods, and traditions alive in the town long after the original settlers left.

Unique history

In 1807, the group adopted celibacy, a decision that made Harmony stand out even among Pennsylvania’s many minority faith communities.

With no children of their own, the group welcomed orphans, widows, and new converts to keep their community strong. Luek said celibacy also opened the way for women to take on greater responsibilities. “They taught both boys and girls to read and write because they wanted everyone to be able to read the Bible,” she said. Even without children of their own, the Harmonists were industrious producers. They imported some of the first merino sheep into western Pennsylvania and built a reputation for high-quality cloth as early as 1810.

“Wine, whiskey, woolen cloth, and rope—those were their big exports,” Luek explained. At the same time, they made everything else they needed themselves: shoes, hats, barrels, and furniture. Whiskey was especially practical. As Luek noted, everyone in western Pennsylvania distilled their extra grain because whiskey was easier to store and ship than raw grain, and it held its value over long distances.

Faith in Harmony was never far from mystery, either. Leader George Rapp was fascinated by alchemy and meditation, and Harmony once had a walking labyrinth meant for quiet reflection. “A labyrinth, not like a maze, you would follow a path and it would bring you to the center,” Luek said. The original is long gone, but the story still intrigues visitors.

That sense of spiritual symbolism extended even to death. Luek said Harmonists believed God knew every soul’s resting place, so today, if you visit their cemetery, you’ll see no headstones. Instead, a stone wall and revolving gate still mark the site, the gate symbolizing passage to the next life.

Festivities to check out

Weihnachtsmarkt in early November is a German Christmas market with traditional artisans, traditional dancers, mulled wine and more.

Silvester, which takes place on Dec. 31, is Harmony’s New Year’s Eve party and takes its name from St. Sylvester’s Day—what Germans call Dec. 31. More than 25 years ago, locals decided to mark midnight in Germany instead of waiting until midnight at home. The tradition stuck, and today families gather for a 5K, live music, fireworks, and a 6 p.m. ball drop synced to Germany’s time zone. “It really has become a very popular thing,” said Luek.

What to look for on a short visit

Start in the town square, where the Harmonists laid out their most important buildings. The original church, storehouse, and brick homes still frame the square. Pop into the Harmony Museum, which displays artifacts from the Harmonists, Mennonites, and later residents.

If you have time, head downstairs into the wine cellars beneath the warehouse and storehouse. “People love going in there,” said Luek. The cellars still carry that damp, earthen smell and give a sense of how the Harmonists stored and sold their wine in the early 1800s.

Finally, don’t miss the Harmonist cemetery, a walled enclosure with no headstones. A revolving gate still marks the entrance, symbolizing passage into the next life.

German eats

Just off the square sits The Harmony Inn, a stately brick building originally constructed in 1856 as a private residence for railroad executive Austin Pearce. Look up at the upper façade and see something playful: two windows that resemble eyes and a mustache painted or installed just below them, making the building seem to gaze down like a friendly (or slightly mischievous) face.

After the railroad venture failed, Pearce sold the home to the Zeigler family, descendants of Harmony’s Mennonite community, who converted it into a hotel and tavern. Over time it became a gathering place for locals and travelers alike.

Today the Inn proudly presents both its past and present. Diners can choose from cozy rooms upstairs or sit in dining rooms with vintage woodwork and period details. The menu leans into the town’s German heritage: you’ll find mouthwatering blueberry strudel, hearty spätzle (a soft egg noodle) and authentic soft pretzels.

Philadelphia’s Germantown

Location: 6 miles northwest of Center City Philadelphia
Year founded: 1683

Germantown is where Pennsylvania’s German story begins. Arguably, in that case, so does America’s German story. In October 1683, 13 families from Krefeld, near today’s Dutch-German border, arrived in Philadelphia seeking religious freedom. They founded a farming village just outside the city. Within a generation, Germantown was producing linen and paper.

German roots and heritage

The original settlers were Quakers and Mennonites with German-speaking backgrounds. Most were linen weavers by trade, and they quickly turned the frontier into a productive settlement with looms, farms, and workshops. German remained the neighborhood’s dominant language for more than a century. By 1688, Germantown residents were already on record for progressive thinking: they drafted one of the first public protests against slavery in the American colonies.

Unique history

Germantown became famous for the Battle of Germantown during the Revolutionary War in 1777.

Festivities to check out

Revolutionary Germantown Festival (October): A daylong reenactment of the 1777 battle, complete with costumed soldiers and family activities.

Self-guided Holiday House Tours (December): Historic sites open their decorated interiors to the public.

What to look for on a short visit

Stroll Germantown Avenue to see 18th-century homes, visit the Germantown White House (once Washington’s headquarters), and step inside America’s first paper mill site at the Historic Rittenhouse Town.

German eats

Today, Germantown is more diverse and offers a wider array of food options than there were in the 1700s. That means you’ll find fewer pretzels and schnitzels. Beyond Germantown, however, the city of Philadelphia carries on German traditions in places like The Pennsylvania General Store at Reading Terminal Market, which curates local classics like pretzels, chocolates, and pantry staples tied to Pennsylvania’s German heritage. And on South Street, Brauhaus Schmitz channels the feel of a Munich beer hall, with schnitzel, spätzle, sausages, and one of the largest selections of German beer in the U.S.

Courtesy of Experience Butler County

Zelienople

Location: 29 miles north of Pittsburgh
Year founded: 1802

Zelienople began with Dettmar Basse, a German businessman from Frankfurt who came to Pennsylvania in 1802. Before arriving, he had worked as an envoy (a kind of diplomatic messenger or representative) at the court of Napoleon in Paris. After losing his wife, he crossed the Atlantic alone, bought 10,000 acres of cheap frontier land for 25 cents an acre, and planned to build his own village.

Basse named the town for his daughter, Fredericka Wilhelmina, who was known by her French nickname, “Zelie.” “She even wrote a little story about a girl named Zaelie,” explained Sue Casker, president of the Zelienople Historical Society. “Everyone started calling her that, and that became her official name when she signed documents.”

Basse hoped to raise mills, workshops, and even a manor house on the hill, then bring his children over from Germany. By 1808, houses, a grist mill, a sawmill, and a brickyard were in place, and families began settling in.

German roots and heritage

Not far behind were the Buhls, another family of German origin who settled in Zelienople in the 1810s. Their home, built in 1819, still stands today. Together, the Basse, Passavant, and Buhl families formed the foundation of the town: Basse provided the land and vision, the Passavants gave plots for churches, schools, and a cemetery, and the Buhls became early civic leaders.

While Zelienople’s founding families were largely German Lutherans, there were plenty of English and Scottish neighbors in the mix. Basse was German; his son-in-law, Philip Passavant, was a French Huguenot who lived in Germany before coming to America. The town stayed small, but its story received an infusion of fresh energy in the late 1800s when Route 19 went up Main Street and the railroad arrived in 1879.

Previously, Harmony was the center of business early on,” said Tom Nesbitt, local historian and author of the Zelienople edition of the “Images of America” book series. “When the railroad and Route 19 came [to Zelienople], commerce shifted,” Nesbitt said.

Industry followed the rails. Soon, the town would produce cast-iron fixtures, scaffolding, glass, and copper tubing, and waves of Eastern European workers joined the activity around 1900. “We even had a Romanian club and a Hungarian club,” Nesbitt said.

Unique history

Zelienople’s descendants shaped western Pennsylvania: Lutheran minister William Alfred Passavant founded hospitals and charities across the state, and the Buhl family later endowed Pittsburgh’s Buhl Planetarium.

Festivities to check out

Open Air Thursdays (May–September): Every Thursday evening, Main Street turns lively with food vendors, sidewalk sales, and live bands. It feels like a small-town block party, with locals and visitors mingling outdoors.

Horse Trading Days (mid-July): A long-running summer festival that brings craft booths, food stands, and family activities downtown. It’s one of the busiest weekends of the year for Zelienople.

Fall Festival (October): Seasonal fun with a parade, kids’ activities, and community events that carry Zelienople into autumn.

Miracle on Main Street (early December): Holiday lights, carriage rides, and visits with Santa make this celebration a local favorite.

What to look for on a short visit

Start at the Passavant House (1808) and Buhl House (1819) for docent-led tours and artifacts tied to Zelie and Philip Passavant and to Christian and Dorothea Buhl. Pick up the Historical Society’s Main Street walking tour brochure to match buildings with their first owners—names like Strohecker pop up on early banks and storefronts. Head to the Kaufman Tavern and check the wall-length mural that lays out the town’s timeline from frontier village to small-town hub.

German eats

Zelienople isn’t a themed German enclave, but you’ll find nods across town, especially during festival weeks when restaurants run Old World specials, or during special events like the Zelienople Historical Society’s Christmas House Tour.

Good to know

The population of Zelienople holds near 4,000, but visitor numbers swell for festivals. The Historical Society offers tours on event nights and by appointment. “People come for a tour and have lived here their whole lives, and they still want to know why it’s called Zelienople,” Casker said. Now you’ll have the answer.

Courtesy of Experience Butler County

Saxonburg

Location: 24 miles north of Pittsburgh
Year founded: 1832

Saxonburg began with two German brothers, John A. Roebling and Carl Roebling, who arrived in 1832 and laid out a new town on about 1,600 acres. “If you look at their hometown in Prussia and at Saxonburg side by side, they’re laid out the same,” said Steven May, Saxonburg’s borough manager and museum curator. The brothers put first things first: a hotel with a restaurant, then a church at the end of Main Street.

Interestingly, John Roebling invented wire rope here in 1836. He later moved to Trenton, New Jersey, to be closer to water transport for the heavy coils and went on to design landmark suspension bridges, including, most famously, the Brooklyn Bridge. Back home, Main Street still looks the way the Roeblings planned it. A local Historic Preservation Board keeps façades, paint colors, and architectural details period-correct. “Thirty-two buildings are still original and over 100 years old, and there are plaques on every one,” May said.

German roots and heritage

Saxonburg was founded by German immigrants and still leans into that identity in quiet, everyday ways. The traditional German Presbyterian church anchors one end of Main Street. Many early family names remain on building plaques. As May put it, “People are very proud of Main Street.”

Unique history

Roebling’s wire-rope shop: In Roebling Park, the 1836 shop where the wire rope was invented still stands. A small replica bridge is currently on display in front of the building. Locals are raising funds to move the replica elsewhere in the park so the historic façade and plaque can be fully shown again.

A “grandma’s attic”-style museum: The 6,000-square-foot Saxonburg Museum is arranged like period rooms and filled with donated household items, tools, textiles, and toys. “It’s a living museum,” May said. Admission is by donation. Hours are by appointment and during town events. A former Smithsonian staffer who grew up here is helping with collections work, and a simple iPad guide is in the works for self-tours.

Festivities to check out

Mingle on Main (every third Thursday from May to September): Street crowds of 4,500 to 5,000 are common, according to May. Expect car shows, live music, and families out late.

Saxonburg Artisan Market (early September): Experience small-town charm and big-time craft talent along Main Street in historic Saxonburg, where over 100 local artisans, makers and performers showcase their work. Expect live music and painting, trolley rides, Amish donuts, carriage rides, a petting zoo and a kid zone.

Annual Pet Parade (early September): “Bring a pet,” May said. “My daughter brings the chicken on a leash.” Skunks and groundhogs have been known to show up, too.

Saxonburg Winter Festival (late February): Bundle up and experience Saxonburg as it transforms into a winter wonderland filled with artisan vendors, live music, frosty carriage rides and cozy, small-town charm. Hosted by The Little Shops of Saxonburg—a beloved collective of antique shops, tea rooms, boutiques and local eateries—this annual festival is the perfect excuse to sip something warm, shop something handmade and savor the magic of winter.

German eats

May says festival events bring potato pancakes, hot pretzels, and delicious sausages to Main Street. Several microbreweries rotate taps at big events. A local favorite for provisions on the go is Batch at 230 Main Street. “You won’t get out without a bag of stuff,” May said, noting the shop’s pepperoni rolls sell out on Thursdays. (Pepperoni rolls aren’t German, but rather a Western Pennsylvania classic. Imagine a soft, yeasted bread roll baked with sticks or slices of pepperoni with cheese so the spicy oils melt into the bread. They started as a portable coal-miner lunch and are now enjoyed by all.)

In late fall, May says to watch for apple butter cooked in a large copper kettle by a town resident. “That copper gives it a crisp taste,” May said.

Saxonburg is small—about 1,200 residents—but it swells on event nights. “Our Main Street is more of an event venue than a Main Street,” May said, explaining that people come to Saxonburg for that small-town, Hallmark-movie appeal. Volunteers keep much of it running: the council, the museum, and fundraising for preservation projects. The museum welcomes group appointments and opens during major town events.

Bethlehem

Location: Lehigh Valley, 70 miles north of Philadelphia
Year founded: 1741

Bethlehem was founded on Christmas Eve by Moravian missionaries, a Protestant renewal movement with its origins in today’s Czech Republic and Germany. They lived communally in what they called the “Old Economy,” where men, women, and children each had their own houses and no one held private property. Faith, music, and crafting practices anchored their daily rhythm. Within decades they had built mills, tanneries, and a bell works, along with sturdy stone houses that still line the historic district.

German roots and heritage

The Moravians spoke German and carried over European skills in weaving, carpentry, and music. They founded one of the first schools for girls in America, kept German-language records for generations, and produced goods that sustained their settlement and supplied the wider region.

Unique history

In July 2024, Bethlehem gained international recognition when the Moravian Church Settlements of Bethlehem were inscribed as part of a transnational UNESCO World Heritage Site, joining Moravian communities in Denmark, Germany, and Northern Ireland. The designation marked Moravian University as only the second university in the U.S. included in a UNESCO site.

Festivities to check out

Bethlehem’s Christkindlmarkt, launched in the 1990s, has grown into one of the country’s premier German-style holiday markets, drawing artisans and visitors from across the region. The city also promotes itself as Christmas City, USA, a tradition rooted in its founding.

German eats

At Christkindlmarkt, you’ll find vendors serving bratwurst, Christmas cookies and hot toddies in the style of German mulled wine. A bit farther out in the Lehigh Valley, Dunderbak’s Market Cafe features an extensive German-American menu, with items like imported pretzels, warm German potato salad, wurst and haus platters, schnitzels, red cabbage, and more. Its menu states “Serving our friends delicious German-American food since 1977.” But it may soon change hands: the owners announced they’ll be retiring in February 2026, so if you want to experience the original founders’ recipes, go now while you still can.

Kutztown

Location: Berks County, 70 miles northwest of Philadelphia
Year founded: 1785

Kutztown is the academic center of Pennsylvania Dutch country, home to Kutztown University and the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center. This is where scholars, artists, and local families work side by side to preserve the traditions of the Pennsylvania Dutch, a group that’s far broader than just the Amish and Mennonites most outsiders think of.

German roots and heritage

The name “Pennsylvania Dutch” is often misunderstood. It isn’t a corruption of Deutsch (German) but an older English usage of “Dutch” that once referred to all Germanic-speaking peoples, according to Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center president Patrick Donmoyer. The “Dutch” people were categorized by altitude, from those living in the peaks of the Swiss and Austrian mountains (the “High Dutch”) to the Flemish and Netherlanders near sea level (the “Low Dutch”).

Donmoyer says Pennsylvania Dutch families in the Kutztown region descended from “High Dutch” farmers in southwest Germany, fleeing the devastation of religious wars and later conflicts. “These were coming from farming communities that had previously been decimated by wars in Europe,” said Donmoyer.

Only a small percentage came seeking the freedom to practice more zealous religious and lifestyle practices, such as the Amish, Mennonites and Moravians. The majority were Lutheran or Reformed who spoke Pennsylvania Dutch at home and built farmsteads that shaped the cultural landscape

Festivities to check out

Pennsylvania German Day (June): A statewide observance recognized by Pennsylvania lawmakers, dedicated to preserving the language, arts, and folk culture of the Pennsylvania Germans. Communities today mark the occasion with workshops, dialect readings, folk music, and performances.

Christmas on the Farm (December): A winter celebration with hearth cooking, seasonal decorations, visits from Belsnickel, a fur-clad figure from German folklore, folk music, and holiday crafts.

Barn Art Trail (year-round): A self-guided driving route showcasing painted barns across eastern Pennsylvania. Each barn displays colorful folk designs—like stars, tulips, and birds—some painted so large they’re visible from the road.

German eats
Make a stop at Dietrich’s Meats, a family-run shop outside of Kutztown known for smoked sausages, gobs (Pennsylvania’s “whoopie pie”), and pickled, well, everything, and Pennsylvania Dutch staples. The store is part butcher, part cultural landmark, and a must for food-curious travelers.

Pittsburgh’s Deutschtown

Location: North Side, across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh
Year founded: Mid-19th century

When Pittsburgh’s steel and glass industries were booming, thousands of German immigrants made their homes on the North Side. By the 1850s, East Ohio Street and its side blocks were so German that the whole area picked up the nickname Deutschtown.

German roots and heritage

Though the city has grown and changed, you can still spot hints of that German past in the architecture and community traditions.

Tourists can walk through the neighborhood to see historic rowhouses, church spires, and colorful murals. Stroll East Ohio Street for its shops and murals, then turn onto Middle, Lockhart, and Suismon Streets to see rows of 19th-century brick homes.

Festivities to check out

Today Deutschtown is best known for the Northside Music Festival, which fills streets, bars, and parks with live performances each summer. Community groups also host seasonal celebrations like Oktoberfest parties and Christmas markets that nod back to Deutschtown’s 19th-century roots, complete with beer, food, and live music.

For history buffs, Deutschtown Historic House Tours open the doors every year to restored 19th-century homes, which give visitors a glimpse into the life of Pittsburgh’s German immigrants.

German eats

You’ll still find German flavor at the Penn Brewery, housed in a 19th-century brewhouse, where lagers, wursts, potato pancakes and Bavarian-style pretzels keep the old traditions alive in a modern craft beer scene.

German heritage lives on in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s German heritage shows up in different ways depending on where you go: a Moravian stone house in Bethlehem, a painted barn star outside Kutztown, a beer hall in Pittsburgh, or a town square once mapped out by religious visionaries.

Together, these places create a living record of how German traditions took root in America and continue to shape community life today.

This story was produced by Experience Butler County PA and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.