German Society of Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
Northern Liberties, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
-Boundaries:Northern Liberties is located north of Center City and is bordered by Girard Avenue to the north; Callowhill Street to the south; North 6th Street to the west; and the Delaware River to the east...
neighborhood of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, is the oldest German-culture organization in the United States. Founded in 1764, to aid German immigrants and indentured servants, it now promotes the teaching of the German language and culture, sponsors lectures, concerts and films, and awards scholarships.
Its Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library is the largest private German-language library outside of Germany. The holdings include a 1743 Christoph Sauer
Christoph Sauer
Christoph Sauer was the first German-language printer and publisher in North America.Johann Christoph Sauer was born in 1695 in Ladenburg , the son of a Reformed pastor. He came to the County of Wittgenstein in central Germany as a child with his widowed mother some time between 1700-1710...
Bible, the first European-language Bible printed in North America.
Since 1888, the Society has been located in a townhouse at 611 Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia. Many of the city's German-culture public artworks were commissioned by the organization.