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City in Michigan, United States
Photo: David Boyle, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Frankenmuth is a city of about 5,500 people (2019) in southeastern Michigan, which was settled in 1845 by 15 Lutheran Germans who intended to spread the Christian religion to the Native American population in the area. The town today capitalizes on this German background, billing itself as "Michigan's Little Bavaria", and styling its downtown after an idealized image of a 19th-century Germany village. Visitors may find it to be unbearably kitschy, but there's a great sense of fun and an almost theme-park-like feel about the downtown area.
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Open weekly until 5PM, except during January and February. The only museum of its type in the US, including uniform displays for Michigan veterans of six foreign wars and the space program, featuring over 400 exhibits.
See show cars cruising main street at the Friday "Big Block" party and over 2,000 show cars on display in Heritage Park.
A weeklong winter festival featuring snow and ice sculptures and a variety of other activities. The international competition is located at Zehnder's Restaurant, the state competition at the Bavarian Inn, and the high school competition at the River Place Shops. Occurs annually the last week of January.
Z's Cafe
Located in the basement of Zehnder's Restaurant, Z's Cafe offers the same food at a significantly reduced price. Food is served cafeteria style and does not come with all of the extras available with the full family-style chicken dinner.
Located in the basement of Zehnder's Restaurant, Zehnder's Bakery features a wide variety of baked goods (including traditional German goods) along with gourmet foods, cheeses, chocolates, etc. Lots of samples!
A large cheese shop offering a huge variety of cheeses, including exotic delicacies as chocolate and strawberry cheese.
Bratwurst, knackwurst, braunschweiger, summer sausage and many other German specialties.
High-quality pub food with a German twist. Over 10 locally craft-brewed lagers and ales, some of them award-winning. $8 (sandwiches) - $20 (pasta and steaks).
Pub food including barbecue. Four flagship handcrafted beers, three specialty brews and six seasonal beers. $6 (burgers) - $19 (steaks).
360 rooms. Features three restaurants, a water park with four pools and three whirlpools, 18-hole indoor miniature golf, and a children's play village. (The Bavarian Inn Restaurant is a short walk away across the nearby covered bridge, not in the Lodge.)
178 rooms. Features a 50,000 square foot indoor waterpark and two restaurants.
38 rooms. A smaller Bavarian-themed hotel in this central downtown area, featuring memorabilia of musician and Frankenmuth native Marv Herzog. The hotel offers a German-style bier garten on a large riverside patio.
Frankenmuth is arguably even more well-known for Bronner's than it is for its Bavarian culture. Operating since 1945, Bronner's is the largest store in the world specializing in Christmas merchandise: the buildings alone cover 7.35 acres, with another 27 acres of landscaped grounds. The complex offers over 50,000 trims and gifts, and displays 350 decorated Christmas trees. Open daily year-round, except New Year's, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Over 34 shops and attractions, including a mirror maze, bumper cars, a laser show at the outdoor amphitheatre, and a paddlewheel boat that runs tours along the Cass River.
Large outdoors shopping mall with over 140 stores, including both outlets and regular retail. Stop by customer service for a coupon book.
Frankenmuth is situated close to I-75, between Flint and Saginaw. Coming north from Detroit, take exit 136 and travel east on M-54, then north on M-83.
Read in the guideYou'll need a car to reach the downtown area; fortunately, parking is abundant and free, even during heavy tourist periods.
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Freeland · Regional · MBS
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