The city's name is a combination of two words. "Franken" represents the Province of Franconia in the Kingdom of Bavaria, home of the Franks, where the original settlers were from. The German word "Mut" means courage; thus, the name Frankenmuth means "courage of the Franconians." The area was settled and named in 1845 by conservative Lutheran immigrants from the Roßtal area of Franconia (now part of Bavaria) in Germany. The group of settlers left Germany on April 20, 1845. Frankenmuth is known as Little Bavaria and the evidence of their ancestors can be found everywhere you look. An interesting and little known fact about Frankenmuth is in 1996, Lord Mayor Christian Ude of Germany officially sanctioned the Frankenmuth Octoberfest celebration, making it the only city outside of Munich to receive such an honor. The most
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