Hermann

Hermann has great character, splendid scenery, locally owned shops, interesting architecture, historic sites, and plenty of wineries in and around the town. With a population of only 2,600, Hermann is also small enough to walk almost everywhere. Amtrak stops in Hermann a couple of times a day, and many day-trippers (especially from St. Louis, just 80 miles away) take the train to see the wineries. The famous Katy Trail also runs about 2 miles north of Hermann. State-100, Missouri's Lewis and Clark Trail, passes through town. The two explorers camped on a nearby island during their trek west. For modern travelers, lodgings are much more comfortable! The official visitors guide lists 65 inns and bed-and-breakfasts. Settled in the 1830s by German immigrants who came by way of Philadelphia, the town was named after Hermann der Cherusker (Arminius in Latin), a Germanic George Washington who halted Rome's incursions beyond the Rhine River during a crucial battle in 9 A.D. In September 2009, Hermann celebrated the 2000th anniversary of that victory by dedicating a statue of Arminius. The bronze statue anchors the new Hermannplatz (a small park) on the corner of Market and First streets. Hermann's founding fathers envisioned the town as a great center of German culture, and even though it never became a large city, the German influence here is inescapable: street names include Schiller, Mozart and Goethe; the Deutscheim (German Heritage) State Historic Site and German School Building museums; an annual Wurstfest; and a municipal band supported by a special tax since the town's earliest days.