The German Heritage Foundation

Der Weihnachtsbaum (Christmas Tree)

Sunday House

Easter Fire on Cross Mountain

Guten Tag, Y'all

Wie Gehts?

The German Heritage Foundation, headquartered in Fredericksburg, Texas, is one of the most interesting organizations that you will ever encounter.

No membership list, no rules, no agenda, no minutes, no cursing, no Bored of Directors. In the words of one member, "We just get things done!"

To understand, you have to start at the beginning.

In 1982, Mayor Boyd Harper received a letter from a woman in Germany. In essence, it read, "You all moved to America in 1846. You should have some money by now. My son needs $2,000 in order to go to truck driving school, which he really wants to do. Please help."

Knowing of his interest in preserving our region's German heritage, Mayor Boyd Harper went to Kenn Knopp, handed him the letter and said, "I'd like you to handle this."

Kenn went to a friend and told him about the letter. The friend wrote a check for $1,000. Kenn went to a second friend and told him about the letter. That friend wrote another check for $1,000. Within 24 hours, Kenn went back to the mayor and handed him $2,000.

The woman sent another letter saying, "Thank you." Kenn believes that he replied, "You're welcome."

Then Mayor Boyd told Kenn "Every time I get a similar letter, I'm going to call you." The rest, as they say, is history.

Today, the German Heritage Foundation's Mission is to preserve our region's German customs and traditions. We facilitate heritage activities and raise the funds needed for specific cultural preservation projects.

Members of the Foundation have been instrumental in maintaining the relationship between Fredericksburg and our sister city of Montabaur, Germany. They have helped form the local German club (meets on Thursdays at the Golden Hub), work with the Gillespie County Historical Society, and interact with a host of other organizations.

Recently, the Foundation raised $2,000 to buy a 1736 German Bible from a private collection. The Foundation donated the book to Texas Tech University of Fredericksburg, which holds all of the references gathered in over 4 decades of historical research. All are now available for public viewing and research.

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Sign up today and you will receive a fascinating short story, "The Sharing of the Mysteries -- The First Cowboys Encounter the Native Indians". Breakfast regulars at the Old German Bakery in Fredericksburg can look around and try to identify the inspiration for this illustrative story.

We ask that you consider supporting our cultural preservation efforts by buying a copy of Die Friedrichsburg Manuskripte, either in electronic form or hardcopy. If you prefer, our shopping cart has been set up to enable a 1 time donation of $10. Either way, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you personally are helping to preserve an important part of American and Texan history.

Keep checking back with this website. Powered 100% by volunteer effort, you never know when we'll have time to add more stories!

Over the months, you will discover more and more of our collected knowledge preserved here. As always, we welcome your comments, your stories, your queries, and your recipes.

Sincerely,

Matthew Koebbe, PhD