Ostheide
Ostheide (German for "Eastern heath"; Swedish: Östra Prärien) or the Eastern Frontier is an informal region in Superior that is home to the largest concentration of German-speaking Superians in the country. It comprises three states: Arrowhead, Lansing, and New Hanover. The most populous city in Ostheide is New Brandenburg, which is considered the cultural center of German Superians.
| Ostheide | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Composition | ||
| Largest metropolitan area | ||
| Largest city | New Brandenburg | |
| GDP (nominal) | ||
| • Total | $TBD | |
| • per capita | $TBD | |
| Dialects |
Superian German Superian English | |
Ostheide is home to the largest German-speaking diaspora in North America. Although the area has a high concentration of German-speaking Superians and Lutherans, Ostheide is nonetheless linguistically and culturally diverse. Many residents of Ostheide do not consider themselves as German and the English language is widely spoken throughout the region. Other distinct ethnolinguistic communities within Ostheide (aside from Anglo-Americans) include Norwegians, Swedes, Poles, Danes, Czechs, Lithuanians, Russians, and Greeks.
German Superians settled the country beginning in the early colonial period of Superior during the 17th century. During the United States, Superior became a prime destination for German-speaking immigrants who were discriminated against by the English-speaking majority along the Atlantic Seaboard. Following the independence of Superior after the War of Contingency, the German Superians wielded significant political and cultural power, and German was recognized as a co-official language alongside English. Subsequent waves of immigration from Germany and Austria resulted in continued increases to the German-speaking population, who settled primarily along the eastern region of Superior.
The term "Ostheide" emerged during the 1920s to describe the prevalence of German-language culture in Superior and became a strong regional identity by the end of the Great War and persists into the present day.
Etymology
Prior to the early 20th century, the area known today under the name Ostheide lacked a unifying name or identity. This was because of the prevalence of German language and culture in all of Superior during the first 50 years of the country's independence, being of the same importance as English and Anglo-American culture that dominates Superior today. This began to change around 1920, after previously primarily German cities and areas have shifted to English as their primary language. The areas that now make up the Ostheide were exempt from these developments and retained most of their German customs and kept using German in daily life. The term Ostheide was first used in an article in Die Volkszeitung in 1921, that referred to the three last states with a German-speaking majority as the eastern frontier of Anglo-American culture. The term Heide (literally "heath") originally refers to unsettled shrubland, but became the translation for the English word "Frontier" in Superian German, for which the standard German variety lacked a precise and defining term.
History
Geography
Geographically, the Ostheide is considered to be made up of the states with the largest German speaking populations in eastern Superior: Arrowhead, New Hanover and Lansing. The region borders Manitoba in the north, the Great Lakes in the west and the United Commonwealth in the west and south. A distinction is made between the political Ostheide and the cultural Ostheide. The former includes all of the aforementioned states, while the latter is usually understood to include some regions of western Uppasala (such as the German communities of the Keweenaw Peninsula), while the urban areas of Duluth and New Hamburg are generally excluded from the Ostheidian cultural area due to their shift to English in the mid-20th century.
Cultural subregions
The Ostheide itself is made up of three internal sub-regions, all of which are only vaguely defined but rather describe the colonial history of the respective regions. The Schwedenmark (Swedish march) is the largest area geographically (including most of Arrowhead and some parts of northern New Hanover) and borders the primarily Swedish and Norwegian speaking areas of northern Superior. It has also a significant number of Swedish-Superians which had considerable cultural influence in the area. The second largest sub-region is the Friesenmark (Frisian march), which is located in central and southern New Hanover and extends to south-western and central Lansing, including New Brandenburg. The Friesenmark was originally settled by settlers from northern Germany, particularly Northern Frisia and Saterland, though not all of them were ethnic Frisians. In this area, the German-Superian dialect of Low German is still widely spoken in the rural areas, with some communities still using the North Frisian language in western Lansing and southern New Hanover. The last and smallest region is the Seenheide (Lake Frontier), which includes the coastal areas of New Hanover and Lansing. It is the largest in population if the New Hamburg metropolitan area is included and has the lowest percentage of German speakers of the Ostheide at around 25%. While English is the most prominent language in the area, Low German and Swedish are widely spoken or understood outside of the urban areas along the New Hanoverian coast.
Demographics
Race and ethnicity
Most Ostheidians have mostly German ancestry, primarily from the northern and north western regions of Germany. They are the largest ethnic group in New Hanover and Lansing and the second largest in Arrowhead. In total, 63% of the Ostheide's residents reported to have at least some ancestry from Germany (including Ashkenazi Jews and Frisians) in the 2020 Superian census. The second largest ethnic groups are the Swedes with 23% of reported ancestry, followed by Anglo-Superians and African-Superians, most of which reside in the larger cities of New Hamburg, Duluth, Grünebucht and New Brandenburg. Since the 1980s an increase of immigration lead to a growing Latin American community especially in and around New Hamburg and Grünebucht. Three percent of the population identify as Native Superian, belonging to several indigenous nations.
The endonym of the Ostheidians is "Heidefriesen" or "Heidedeutsche", meaning "Frontier Frisians" and "Frontier Germans" respectively. The term Heidefriese is more often used by Germans in the central Ostheide in New Hanover and developed due to the large number of German and Frisian settlers from East Frisia and Schleswig.
Religion
The majority of Ostheidians are Lutheran protestants at about 65% of the total population of the area. The second largest group are Avignonese Catholics at 15% of the population, while the largest non-christian religious group are Jews at around 6%. 10% of the population are irreligious or atheist. The remaining four percent are made up of various other groups, mainly Sunni Muslims and followers of indigenous religions.
Transportation
Culture
The culture of the Ostheide has been influenced by German, in particular northern German customs and traditions with significant influences from Scandinavian (mainly Danish), Frisian and Anglo-Continental culture. Ostheidian identity as a separate concept apart from other German-Superians emerged after Great War I when societal and political division occurred along ethno-linguistic lines that still exists to some degree in the present. One consequence of this is a generally more socially liberal attitude and prominent Republican sympathies within the German-Superian community that contributed to further cultural distinctness.
Flag
The flag of the Ostheide was designed around 1950 by an elementary school teacher from Altoona, New Brandenburg County and has seen wide spread usage by Ostheidians and German-Superians more broadly by the late 1950s . It is made up of three horizontal stripes of blue, green and black with a white shield depicting a red bull's head in the center. Blue represents the state of Lansing and the Great Lakes, green the state of Arrowhead and the forests of the Ostheide and black represents the state of New Hanover and the industrial areas of the region. The white in the shield represents peace and faith (without representing any particular religion), the red bull's head represents the strength and persistence of German culture in the Ostheide.
Music
Gun culture
Gun culture in the Ostheide generally emphasizes gun usage for hunting and traditional sports-shooting, while the aspect of self-defense is often regarded as a secondary concern for many. Regardless or motivation, the states in the Ostheide are among the highest in gun ownership in Superior and North America as a whole, with around 55% of New Hanoveranians and 61% of Arrowheaders own at least one firearm. Lobby groups in support of private gun ownership and liberal gun laws such as the Superian Gun Rights Association and the North American Marksmen Federation rely largely on membership in the Ostheide and rural western Superior. Politicians in the Ostheide generally affirm the right to bear arms, but the topic of banning assault rifles and semi-automatic firearms remains a controversial topic in local and national politics.
Marksmen festivals (Schützenfeste) and traditional German gun clubs (Schützenvereine) were brought to Superior by German immigrants in the 19th century and have been an important cultural institution of German-speaking communities, especially in the rural areas of Lansing and New Hanover. Hunting is also considered an important part of rural Ostheidian culture, and annual drive hunts are organized between mid-October and early December, which are traditionally accompanied by small festivals and gatherings within the community, however the modern hunting gatherings are mostly attended by members of the hunting clubs and their friends and families.
Festivals
Cuisine
Traditionally pork has been the most important source of protein in the region along with mutton and rabbits, while beef and chicken are not as common in the cuisine of the region. Meat is often consumed processed as salted pork or sausages that are eaten on bread or in stews. A specialty of the region is the Dröigt Pinge, a dried pork sausage. Rabbits were commonly eaten by the inhabitants of the Frisian Islands and was popularized by settlers from the region in Superior, as the custom became useful for the sustenance of the first German settlers in the area. The continuation of consuming mutton is also owed to the German settlers as many were herding sheep for the production of textiles. Thus a special type of lamb roast known as Braden Lamm is today known as a delicacy. A modified form of Labskaus is also considered part of the traditional food of the Ostheide.
For vegetables, especially potatoes are important for the cuisine of the region as are kale, a large variety of legumes, squash and various types of cabbage. Fruits are also of great importance for the regional cuisine both for savory and sweet dishes, where more tart varieties accompany salty meats in stews or sauces, in particular apples and pears, with the region around New Brandenburg being the largest producer of pears in Superior. It is also common to serve apple sauce on the side of dishes that include fatty meats or sausages. Many vegetables and fruits are consumed canned, dried or salted. These practices were still common especially in the rural areas of New Hanover, where fruits and vegetables would be grown and processed at home far into the second half of the 20th century.
Tea has historically also a greater importance to the people of the Ostheide than coffee, owing to the numerous and influential settlers from East Frisia. Coffee has only recently been popularized as an everyday drink, while tea continues to be the caffeinated beverage of choice for the majority of Ostheidians.
Today, the hamburger is the most famous food item from the Ostheide, developing in the early 20th century in New Hamburg. It derived from a dish called "Hamburger Schnitte" ("Hamburger slice(s)"), which is a sandwich with sour dough bread or bread roll, a frikadelle, salad or cucumber and condiments such as mustard or herb butter. Unlike the Anglo-American hamburger, Hamburger Schnitten are eaten cold and do not include cheese or ketchup.