"Michigan's "Little Bavaria"" a Frankenmuth Travel Page by Dabs

Frankenmuth was 1st settled in 1845 by a German pastor who named it Frankenmuth which means "courage of the Franconians". The Frankenmuth that you see today started in 1947 when Rupprecht's Sausage (now Willi's Sausage) was remodeled in the "Alpine-style" architecture. In 1958, the Zehnder family renovated the Fischer Inn in the same style and renamed it the Bavarian Inn. Many other buildings were renovated in a similar style in the following years, that plus Bronner's Christmas Wonderland created a tourist destination for people from all over the midwest.

My 1st visit to Frankenmuth was when I was a little girl and lived in Waterford, Michigan, I have a picture of my mom taken in a Bavarian dress that she bought while there. My husband and I have visited several times since. It's a little far to do as a daytrip although we have done it, 10 hours+ driving in a day is a little much!

Some people seem to dismiss Frankenmuth as a giant tourist trap but I always enjoy our visits there. In recent years they have added lots of hotels, some of which have water parks and other family activities that make it a weekend destination.