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Celebrating a permanent fixture of New Ulm

Monument preservation takes center stage at Hermannfest

By Amy Zents 6 min read

NEW ULM -- Community members and visitors gathered across Hermann Heights Park and Harman Park for the  annual Hermannfest celebration, a free-admission festival that has become a late-summer anchor for German heritage, live music, and living history under the shadow of the Hermann Monument.

The festival opened at 11:30 a.m. under the shelter grounds at Hermann Heights on Saturday.

Dain’s Dutchmen kicked off the stage lineup with polka music and Dain’s special brand of humor that has long made him a local favorite. 

Following the Dutchmen, Miss Loretta presented a musical tribute to Leon Olsen, accompanied by Lori Nissel on the concertina, while the Concord Singers followed at 3 p.m., performing in traditional Lederhosen encouraging audience participation with hand clapping, schunkeling and great enthusiasm.

Early in the festivities up at Hermann Heights Park, attendees Connie Bartels and Connie Olson talked about the official festival apparel before settling on their lawn chairs to enjoy the music. 

Music shifted down to Harman Park at 3pm where the Bockfest Boys entertained the crowds with more contemporary songs under a tent on the grounds.

More live music followed with the Blue Ringers starting at 7:30pm.

Throughout the event, festival proceeds and merchandise sales were directed to the Hermann Monument preservation fund, with community leaders emphasizing the urgency of structural repairs estimated at $11.6 million. 

The monument, closed to climbers due to moisture intrusion and cracking in the dome, is facing a deconstruct-reconstruct project after 120-plus years.

“You see how bad the moisture is, see the cracks up there?” community advocate Harlan Melhop said regarding the monument’s exterior. “I know some people say, ‘Why do we want to spend $11 million?’ But they better."

Melhop believes the monument is a permanent fixture of New Ulm’s history and identity and letting it crumble is not an option, even if the price tag is steep.

Melhop said that organizers are pursuing donation drives, local fundraising, and federal grants to support the total reconstruction effort. 

Hermann Monument Society President Tom Furth has said the festival’s whole point from its start in 2014 has been to draw attention to Hermann, and this year that point felt more urgent than ever.

At Harman Park, the Hermann Monument Society souvenir booth offered a wide array of merchandise, including newly designed festival t-shirts in both black and bright pink. The table featured framed architectural sketches, limited-edition monument prints, drink ware, can koozies, souvenirs, keychains, and commemorative badges, with proceeds directly benefiting the Hermann Monument Society preservation fund.

Nearby, at the HermannFest Ticket Sales booth, Hermann Monument Society board member Amy Johnson volunteered, managing the hub of the festival’s cash-only system where visitors trade cash for food and beverage tickets. 

The 25-member volunteer group is the third oldest surviving organization in New Ulm and stands as the only continuously run volunteer battery of its kind in the United States.

Firing commands were directed by Artillery Captain Joe Laechel, a 19-year battery veteran who worked his way up from private to corporal and sergeant before being elected captain.

“We’re not reenactors. We’re living history. We are the New Ulm Battery,” Laechel said.

As captain, his duties involve directing firing operations, overseeing command sequences, and signaling the crew when to fire.

“Artillery commands are basically load, ready, and fire,” Laechel said.

There are a few more commands when horses are involved, he said, but not today.

Members join through personal connections and public outreach, including five women currently active. Beth Prechel, who lives in Hanska with her husband John, joined four and a half years ago after seeing a Facebook post.

“I actually saw a post on Facebook. They were looking for new people, and I talked to her about it. We said, ‘Why not?'” Prechel said.

Other battery members include father-and-son duo Kevin and Michael Dietz, Mankato resident Brian Olson, and Bryce Stenzel, who portrays Abraham Lincoln and was originally recruited into the unit by John Fritsche.

“We kind of operate as a family,” Prechel said.

Battery members began their day early Saturday by firing a cannon to signal the start of the local 5K race, continuing a tradition maintained for nearly two decades. 

Early battery demonstrations originally began at Riverside Park using horse teams to move the equipment, though today’s cannons are handled directly by crew members and trailers. 

Setup now takes minutes, but the effect is the same.

The annual Thunder in the Valley show began at 6 p.m. and featured seven cannons firing in synchronization with the New Ulm Municipal Band under the direction of Michael Koester. This marked the third year that conductor Michael Koester directed for Thunder in the Valley.

Spectators praised the evening’s musical lineup, including Connie Gulbrandson, who expressed her appreciation for the Blue Ringers and was particularly impressed by Christa Bohlmann’s vocals, saying, “I just absolutely love her voice. I could listen to the Blue Ringers the whole night long. I stayed right to the very end.”

Lori Jewell, Executive Director of State Street Theater, was exploring the park festivities with Jan “Rosie” Rosenberg, the 2026 Hans Joohs Cultural Exchange recipient visiting from Ulm, Germany. 

Rosenberg is currently staying with host family Jim and Connie Bartels during his three-month stay in New Ulm, after originally staying with his previous host family, Brian and Mary Lou Serbus.

Rosenberg attended Hermannfest after visiting The Defeat of Jesse James Days in Northfield earlier that morning.

“I’ve heard a lot of gunshots today because I’m coming directly from Northfield, the town where Jesse James did a bank robbery,” Rosenberg said, pointing out the coincidence of two loud history weekends colliding

A living history display of historic uniforms and cannons was provided by the New Ulm Battery at Harman Park. Formed in 1863 in the wake of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, the New Ulm Battery stands as a proud local legacy.

As night fell, spectators with lawn chairs filled the grassy median along Center Street and lined the surrounding hillside to view the 8:30 p.m. fireworks display over the monument grounds, a finale that has closed out Hermannfest for over a decade.

The Hermann monument glowed as the sky lit up above it, creating a view that was, in the words of one visitor, “absolutely breathtaking.”

After the fireworks display The Blue Ringers resumed playing on stage at Harman park to conclude the evening’s festivities.

“We had amazing weather, huge crowds and the best volunteers," Furth said of this year's festival. "We are thankful for everyone who joined us in support of our Hermann Monument."

To support the ongoing preservation efforts, donations can be made online by visiting the Hermann Monument Society website at hermannmonument.com.

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