New Ulm is very proud of its German-American heritage, and the town has a lot of attractions celebrating this. We stayed at a German-themed Holiday Inn (which is much better than it sounds; it was actually a great hotel). The town has various German festivals (Oktoberfest, Bockfest, etc) and next month is planning a huge celebration to commemorate the 2000th anniversary of Hermann's defeat of the Roman legions. For those who, like ourselves, never heard of Hermann, he is a teutonic Braveheart who united the clans to defeat the Romans, paving the way for an independent Germany. In addition to a huge party next month, they are issuing a commemorative coin and a special label beer from the town brewery.
One of the things most enjoyable about this trip is seeing how Americans all around the country celebrate their heritage, whether its honoring heroes from the old country, building a monument to Crazy Horse (or to Hermann the German), holding priairie days and pioneer days or building little Denmarks (or Norways, Swedens, Bavarias, etc). And let's not forget the county and state fairs where we celebrate who and where we are today.
Here's a picture of a monument to Hermann which is on top of a hill overlooking the City of New Ulm.
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