German Uruguayans


The German community in Uruguay is big; it numbers ca. 10,000 German expatriates and 250,000 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.

History

One of the first Germans to come to the region was Ulrich Schmidl, 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 and relatively discrete. The 2011 Uruguayan census revealed 5,167 people who declared Germany as their country of birth.

Religion

Local Germans practise different Christian religions:
There is also an important presence of German Jews, with religious activities at the NCI Synagogue.

Institutions

German immigrants established several institutions of their own, among others:
There are also local offices of German institutions:
Historic German schools:
There are important German names closely linked to the political landscape.

Politics