The German community in Uruguay is small but significant; it 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.
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 German presence in Uruguay was always small, relatively discrete. The 2011 Uruguayan census revealed 1,167 people who declared Germany as their country of birth. However, there are important German names closely linked to the political landscape:
Carlos Fischer (Colorado; President of the National Council of Government, 1958-1959)
Héctor Grauert (Colorado; representative, minister, and member of the NCG)
his brother 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)
his brother Mario Heber (Blanco; representative and senator)
his son Luis Alberto Heber (Blanco; senator since 1995; president of the party)
Ernesto Kroch, German-born syndicalist
Sport is another field where several German Uruguayans stand out:
Carlos Grossmüller, footballer
Gary Kagelmacher, footballer
Martín Kutscher, swimmer
Paul Kutscher, swimmer
Sergio Orteman, footballer
Gerardo Vonder Pütten, footballer
Other important German Uruguayan people are:
Elio García-Austt, neuroscientist
Carlos Ott, architect
Carlos Rehermann, novelist and playwright
Siegbert Rippe, commercial jurist
Bernardo Rosengurtt, botanist and agrostologist
Erwin Schrott, opera singer
Rodolfo Wirz, Roman Catholic bishop of Maldonado and Punta del Este
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, Montevideo
Mennonite: there are four Mennonite settlements in Colonia Nicolich, El Ombú, Gartental, and Colonia Delta.
There is also an important presence of German Jews, with religious activities at the NCI Synagogue.
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
