Please join us as we celebrate Harvest Fest, which started in the late 1970s, at our Swiss Historical Village & Museum! This family-friendly event brings history to life with demonstrations and hands-on activities located throughout our Village buildings and grounds.

Special admission prices of $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children allow you to self-tour the grounds and exhibits, and over 30 exhibitors will be available for demonstrations. Enjoy Swiss music, alphorns, and flag throwers throughout the day, as well as tasty Swiss food and treats.

Many thanks to our legion of dedicated volunteers who make this event possible.

Please join us as we honor the journey and arrival of immigrants from Glarus, Switzerland to Green County, Wisconsin in 1845.  Ecumenical service to be held in our historic log church.  Traditional music proved by the New Glarus Jodlerklub.  Free and open to everyone.

You are invited to join us on the museum grounds for some old-fashioned summertime fun.  Enjoy homemade pies and vanilla ice cream (while supplies last).  Bring your own picnic blanket to sit on the lawn and enjoy live folk music performed by Emily Hefty-Dieckhoff and Savannah Bettin.  We'll have games for the kids, too!  Sponsored in partnership with the New Glarus Public Library.  

Admission is free, but a donation of $5/person or $10/family is recommended to help support museum programming.  Join us after the social for our annual commemorative church service at 6 PM.

Don’t miss out on the 2022 season. Come out yet today before we take a break over the winter!

Please join us as we celebrate Harvest Fest at our Swiss Historical Village & Museum! This family-friendly event brings history to life with demonstrations and hands-on activities located throughout our Museum buildings and grounds. Special admission prices of $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children allows you to self tour the grounds and exhibits, and over 20 exhibitors will be available for demonstrations. Many thanks to our legion of dedicated volunteers who make this event possible.

This book tells the true story of the crime, escape, and eventual capture of Betty’s ancestor John Kuehni. On a peaceful day in 1888, two brothers on a fishing trip made a gruesome discovery that shocked the community and led to an international manhunt… and it all started at the New Glarus train depot! The Horror of 1888 will introduce you to one of the most shocking murders that Wisconsin had ever seen.

This event will be held in the log church on museum grounds. Admission is free. Music will be provided by Jeff Anderson. (And we just might have one or two other tricks & treats in store for you!)

About the author: Betty Plombon is a native of Stanley, Wisconsin. She is an avid historian, author, and genealogist, and serves as the curator of the Stanley Area Historical Museum. She is always in search of a good dead man! Each summer, she spends her spare time at the museum building exhibits, researching and writing stories for the society’s newsletter and programs while helping others explore their family histories. Betty is also the author of Out of Switzerland: The Kühni Family to Wisconsin.

Many thanks to New Rose and Chalet Cheese for co-sponsoring this event.

Master Herbalist Lula Miller Presents: Not Quite Ricola

Whether you’re looking for natural ways to support your family’s health, want to introduce more native plants to your landscape, or you just enjoy growing beautiful things, you’re sure to discover new ideas at this workshop. Through this presentation, you’ll discover a brief history of Swiss Herbalism, what local plants work well for your home medicine garden, and how to make Swiss-style herbal medicine at home. Green County Master Gardeners Linda Uttech & Mary Hillstrom will also be on hand to answer questions about native plants and the museum’s prairie plot.

This event will be held at the Swiss Historical Village Museum at 612 7th Avenue in New Glarus. Please enter through the west gate (across the street from the cemetery). The presentation is free and open to the public.

Come celebrate and remember the first settlers of New Glarus at a special ecumenical service held at the replica settler's church on the museum grounds. Rev. Gene Talley will officiate. There is no fee for this event.

We invite you to attend a special workshop presented by Eleanor Brinsko of Carlon Genealogical Services.

Midwesterners make up the heart of America. We live and work among the farmlands, the Great North Woods, and factories and industries. It’s time to take a look at the people who have called this place home by looking at the history of the region and its people, and where to find the documents to fill out our ancestors’ stories.

This event will take place in the New Glarus Village Hall Community Room at 319 2nd Street. This workshop is free and open to the public, and is presented in partnership with the New Glarus Public library.

About the presenter: Eleanor Brinsko is a professional genealogist who specializes in Scandinavian-American genealogy by looking a the genealogical and social trends on both sides of the Atlantic. She also teaches a graduate-level genealogy course for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s iSchool, and has contributed to “Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s Finding Your Roots” on PBS.

This is an extra special day at the museum! For this event there is a reduced admission of $5 for adults and $3 for kids (17 and under). Walk about the various buildings and grounds to visit a variety of demonstrations and hands-on opportunities. Learn about crafts, trades, and household chores of long ago from the exhibitors who enjoy to share their knowledge with you. Refreshments are available for a small fee. Something to enjoy for all ages!

Take a look at the line up for the day:

Jesse Brookstein will be signing & selling copies of his book A Perfect Pair

Carol Showalter will be signing & selling copies of her book My Grandparents, My Idols: Carl and Verena Marty

Maennerchor performance at 11:30 AM

Jodlerklub performance at 1:00 PM

Demonstrations of beekeeping, soap making, basket weaving, sausage making, and rope making, there will be others as well, complete list will be available soon!

Also enjoy these other special opportunities in New Glarus on Sunday:

Chalet of the Golden Fleece will be offering special $5 admission on Sunday October 10th.

Horse-drawn wagon rides looping between the museum and the downtown area throughout the festival.

A time honored tradition is to gather in fellowship to celebrate the arrival of the Swiss settlers in 1845. Join us in celebration and commemoration of their strength and determination to make a new life in America. This ecumenical service is held in the replica of the New Glarus ‘ log church on the museum grounds. Pastor Petra Strieff will lead the service. Old hymns will be played on the antique pump organ. The New Glarus Jodlerklub will perform. Free admission for all in attendance.

The Swiss Historical Village will help launch New Glarus’ 175+1 anniversary weekend with a book signing by Duane Freitag from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 30.

Freitag’s book, “A Common Treasure,” details the first ten years of the Swiss Colony of New Glarus. It was published in 2020 in advance of the original plans for the 175th anniversary that were canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Freitag, a retired journalist who lives in Greendale, grew up in New Glarus and has written a number of books and pamphlets about the history of the community. He has been a museum tour guide and served on the board of directors of the New Glarus Historical Society.

Freitag will be at the Historical Village gift shop where hard bound copies of the book will be sold at a special reduced rate of $20 that weekend. The book makes an ideal gift for friends or relatives interested in the story of New Glarus and the sale provides an opportunity for anniversary celebration visitors to obtain a signed copy.

The gift shop also is now selling copies of a new translation of pioneer Joshua Wild’s diary about the early years of New Glarus. The book was produced by August Berlinger, of Canton Glarus, Switzerland, for the anniversary celebration.

What is landjaeger? Why is it sometimes spelled landjäger? How does it differ from meat sticks or jerky? Why does it come in pairs? Why is it sold in those decorative chalet-like display cases, and why isn't it refrigerated? Why do you see it so often in Green County, Wisconsin, and why is it so popular amongst Wisconsinites as a whole? And, perhaps most importantly, how is it pronounced?! You'll find answers to all these questions & so much more in A Perfect Pair: The History of Landjaeger in Green County, Wisconsin.

Written by Jesse Brookstein and designed by Wisconsin native Zach Nichols, A Perfect Pair introduces you to the producers & experts who carefully craft this legendary smoked sausage snack, and serves as a historical & visual tour guide through the beautiful rolling hills and meat shops of Green County.

Along the way, you'll also visit some friends in Dane County while discovering a world of landjaeger that reaches far beyond the display cases from which they so beautifully hang.

Packed with interviews, insights, and full-color photos, A Perfect Pair is written for folks of all ages, and can be enjoyed by everyone from landjaeger newbies to the fiercest of meat geeks. So go ahead, grab a pair of landjaegers, a pint of beer, and join us on our journey through LandjaegerCounty, USA.

Meet Jesse as he will be signing and selling books next to the museum's smokehouse building (and he's also planning to sell landjaegers, pending arrangements with several sausage makers). The book sells for $14.99.

Join us for a fun-filled and educational day on the grounds of the Swiss Historical Village museum.

• Meet and watch individuals demonstrating old-time skills and crafts indoors such as rug and basket weaving, spinning, quilting, sauerkraut and cheese-making (in a huge copper kettle over a fire), printmaking, woodworking, and more!

• Local history experts will be on hand sharing their knowledge of the history of the Civil War, the history of the New Glarus Fire Department and the founding of New Glarus.

• Get tips and tricks for researching your family history.

• Taste local, culinary specialties and bring home baked goods from the bake sale.

A great outing for the whole family! 

Reduced admission fees for this event. 

10 AM to 4 PM

Swiss Historical Village & Museum
612 7th Avenue
New Glarus, WI 53574

From the press release: The New Glarus Public Library, in collaboration with the New Glarus Historical Society, is proud to welcome Wisconsin author Eric Schlehlein and his program “Forged in Blood: How the Iron Brigade Earned its Metallic Moniker.” This 40-minute program tells the story of more than three thousand Wisconsin boys (including New Glarus founder Fridolin Streiff) who served in the Iron Brigade during the Civil War. This brigade would suffer the highest casualties of any brigade during the Civil War.

In memory of long time guide/museum Board member John Marty, the museum will be closed on Thursday, August 17.  We will re-open at 10:00 am on Friday, August 18.  If you would like to attend John's services or share your condolences with his family, please view his obituary here:  http://www.bealfuneralhomes.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=1996777

The 58th Annual Commemorative Church Service, honoring the arrival of our Glarner ancestors, will take place on the grounds of the Swiss Historical Village Museum on Saturday, August 12 at 5:30 p.m.  The ecumenical service will be led by Pastor Kim Moeller of the Swiss United Church of Christ with music provided by the New Glarus Mannerchor and Shirley Lueschow, organist. Sponsored by the New Glarus Historical Society, the public is encouraged to attend. 

Join the Swiss Museum on May 13 to celebrate the Downtown Open House event in New Glarus. In addition to free admission to the museum, these other events will be going on: free admission for the Chalet of the Golden Fleece museum, bike rodeo, tours at the New Glarus Brewery, walking tour, and a tour at the Swiss United Church of Christ. The museum will be open normal hours that day. For more information, go here: http://newglarusvillage.com/government/downtown-open-house. 

Don't miss the annual Harvest Fest, the most popular event held at the Swiss Historical Village Museum, operated by the New Glarus Historical Society.   Connect with 19th century Swiss immigrant life at our annual Harvest Fest where daily routines and responsibilities of the past – cheese making, blacksmithing, yarn spinning, basket weaving – are re-created. Enjoy a Swiss brätzeli cookie-making demonstration. Talk to Civil War re-enactors, the “Bee Man,” a wheelwright and a sausage maker. (You can even buy their products!) For those of you who are feeling ambitious, practice your three Rs in a one-room schoolhouse. After all that work, relax and enjoy some live music on our picturesque grounds.  Reduced admission fees for this event.

The annual ecumenical church service commemorating the arrival of the first settlers in New Glarus will be held on Saturday evening, August 13.  No admission is charged to attend this event. More details will be posted this summer.

On Saturday, August 6, 2016, the Cemetery Committee of the New Glarus Swiss United Church of Christ is hosting cemetery walks. Two tours will begin at the Swiss Historical Village in front of the log church at 9 a.m. The first of these is the tour of the oldest part of the cemetery highlighting some of the earliest settlers who helped found the village.   The second tour will discuss people from around the turn of the last century who helped develop New Glarus into a thriving area.   The tours include stories of both men and
women, stories which display hope, courage and some sadness.  

A new, third tour is being offered at 10:45 a.m. This will be a tour of the little cemetery on the edge of New Glarus often referred to as the EUB (Evangelical United Brethren) cemetery.   This historic burial ground also has many stories to tell and will feature original settlers and their families who belonged to what we often call the "White Church".  
Oswald Babler, a New Glarus original, will be a highlight.   Since this is a very small cemetery, the stories of several individuals from surrounding area cemeteries may also be discussed.   Tours will begin at the EUB cemetery with parking at the Swiss Center of North America parking lot.

Reservations for all of the tours are required in order to maintain the small tour groups.   Please call the Swiss Church office (608-527-2119) after the 4th of July and get placed on the tour(s) of your choice.
The tours are free, but donations welcome to help defray operational
costs of the cemetery.
 

The New Glarus Historical Society will hold an open house for members of the New Glarus Fire Department and Fire District Board from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m.   The Open House will continue for Historical Society Members and the general public from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

This event marks the grand "re-opening" of the Fire House exhibit space after the addition of new photographs and items to the displays as well as the installation of enhanced lighting for the space. Exhibits chronicle the history of the New Glarus Fire Department since it was established in 1902.

Admission to this event is free. 

Each year the New Glarus Historical Society honors the journey and arrival of the immigrants from Glarus, Switzerland to Green County.  Make plans to join us for this ecumenical service held in the replica of the log church on the Museum grounds, beginning at 5:30 p.m.  Reverend Gene Talley will lead the service with Shirley Lueschow playing the antique pump organ. The New Glarus Maennenchor will sing several songs in Swiss-German.  The offering is donated to the Green Cares Food Pantry.