The Maifest of Hermann, MO
What is Maifest?
Maifest is a traditional celebration of Hermann’s German heritage featuring German music, dancing, food, parades, beer gardens, and many more. Maifest occurs annually during mid-to-late May to welcome spring and hopes for a bountiful harvest for farmers in the area.
The celebrations are about bringing families of German culture or people interested in German culture to the town and experience it first-hand. Perhaps the most striking visualization of the German heritage’s impact on the town is the massive participation by local children in the events. This perpetuates German culture in the area, keeping it alive.
The Maifest observed today began in 1952, yet its roots are tied to the German culture from more than a century earlier.
German Immigration to Missouri
Between 1815 and 1870, several waves of immigrants came to the states from all over the world. Seventeenth century Germany was in absolute turmoil from years of war in Europe. Many Germans sought new lands in the states to escape the disaster of the German government. In Van Ravenswaay’s “The Arts and Architecture of German Settlements in Missouri,” he discusses the type of people who chose to pack up and leave.
“Neither great landowners nor harvest hands, but small farmers who cultivated their own land… individual shopkeepers and artisans… they were people who had something to lose, and who were losing it, squeezed out by interacting social and economic forces.”
These people had no real understanding of American culture, but they needed to leave their homeland. Many people attempted to lead agricultural lives in the Midwest; however, many of these people failed either by their lack of farming knowledge or purely bad luck. These people typically retired themselves to big cities such as St. Louis to find work to support themselves and their families. Of the farmers who were able to survive the Midwest, there were German culture “hotspots” like Hermann, MO where they tended to settle.
The Persistence of German Culture in “Hotspots”
Before and during the Civil War, German influence on the public opinion in Missouri towards the topic of slavery was unrelenting to attack. Germans were uniformly Abolitionist and they are arguably the sole reason that Missouri remained a free state. Without the German influence in Missouri, who knows if the Union could have won? With that being said, Germans also had a huge impact on society in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century.
Brewing and the industry that came along with it is the main source of that impact. In the city of St. Louis, several breweries and beer gardens popped up and became wildly successful despite some local backlash. An article from the Harper’s Weekly Newspaper in 1859 illustrates some disapproval of the “German drinking.” The city passed “Sunday Laws” that prohibited drinking in public places on Sunday in the city. When German Americans began to voice their opinion, the article writes, “Men of intelligence do not believe that the Germans are aggrieved by our Sunday Laws.” This article asserts the impact of German influence on society is negligible, when it has already been proven that German culture had a massive impact, especially in Missouri. German influence on the brewing industry continues today in the forms of brewers like Anheuser-Busch and KC Bier.
The First Maifest
In 1952, the Brush and Palette Club in Hermann advertised the first public Maifest to fundraise for the restoration of the Rotunda Building in the town. The streets became overridden with more than 40,000 people which completely shut down the city of Hermann. The turnout was so spectacular that the townspeople decided to make it an annual tradition. A result of this was an increased interest in Hermann for Germans interested in the wine industry. Today, viniculture is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the area, and it is all from German influence.
If you happen to drive through Hermann, MO, hopefully you now realize the deeply rooted culture of Germans, and perhaps you can join in on the Maifest celebrations. If interested, the 2023 celebration begins Friday, May 19. Enjoy!
