Amana Colonies

The Amana Colonies are a collection of seven villages in Eastern Iowa, founded by German settlers in 1855. The people in these villages actively maintain many of the cultural traditions of their ancestors. The Colonies are located just west of Iowa City along I-80. They are: Amana (also called Main Amana), East Amana, Homestead, Middle Amana, High Amana, West Amana, South Amana.

The Amana Colonies are about 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Iowa City, 20 miles southwest of Cedar Rapids, 100 miles (160 km) east of Des Moines and 250 miles west of Chicago.

Understand
In 1855, a group of German settlers decided to buy some 30 square miles (70 km²) of land in eastern Iowa. These settlers, whose spirituality was marked by a strong belief in mysticism and communal life, sought to practice their religion in isolation. The Great Depression made it impossible for the villages to continue their isolation, and the Amana people voted to end their communal life, convert their shares in the common property into a formal business corporation, and build economic ties with the outside world. To this day, residents still maintain some of the traditional industries—woolen textiles, meats and cheeses, furniture—that their ancestors brought over from Germany. Some of the largest businesses and farms in the area either are or were previously owned and operated by the Amana Society, the for-profit corporation that was created when the businesses were separated from the church.

The entire set of colonies was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1965, and there are hundreds of historic buildings still in use across the seven villages, mostly as homes for the approximately 1,200 permanent residents or as small businesses that cater to tourists.

Talk
Everyone speaks English. Compared to the rest of the region, a greater proportion of residents have learned some German in school. Some of the oldest residents also speak an older form of German, derived from West Central German, called Amana German or Kolonie-Deutsch.

Get in
The nearest airport with scheduled passenger service is the Eastern Iowa Airport, between Cedar Rapids and the Amana Colonies.

Get around
There is no public mass transit service, no bike rental, and no car rental service within the colonies. Transportation is by car, by joining a bus tour, by biking, or by walking.

Each of the small villages is a couple of miles away from the next, which means it is about an hour's walk from one to the next. However, few people routinely walk or bike between villages now, except to follow the bike trail between Middle Amana and Main Amana. Within each small village, however, walking from one shop to the next is often the best choice. The colonies were modeled after German farming villages, so they generally have a single main street with smaller residential streets branching off from the main street, and most shops are on the main street or very close to it.



Buy
Main Amana, in particular, is home to many tourist-friendly shops selling art, antiques, clothing, and gifts.

Eat
One of the main attractions of the Amana Colonies are its restaurants, which usually feature old German recipes and family-style service. Several of these well-known restaurants are housed in former communal dining houses from the earlier period. Many attract bus tours from considerable distances for a meal in the Amana Colonies.

Drink
Although many restaurants offer beer and wine, there are few bars, no clubs, and little nightlife. However, there are several wineries and craft breweries.

Sleep
If you want to stay in the Amanas, there are many small bed and breakfasts available. Larger hotels are available in nearby cities such as Williamsburg and Cedar Rapids.



Stay safe
The Amana Colonies have a low crime rate. Your biggest safety risks are likely car wrecks and severe weather, including flooding and cold weather.

The nearest hospital is the Compass Memorial Hospital at 300 West May Street in Marengo, about a 20-minute drive west on Highway 6. It is a small rural hospital with 25 beds and an emergency room, but no intensive care unit. The nearest large hospitals are all about a half-hour's drive away: Mercy Iowa City and the University of Iowa Hospitals, which are in Iowa City, and St Luke's Hospital, which is in Cedar Rapids.

Cope
The church that founded the Amana Colonies still exists; it is formally known as the Community of the True Inspiration or the Amana Church Society. The old meeting houses look very much like regular buildings near the center of a village, although if you look closely, you may notice that the windows are somewhat larger. The old meeting house in Homestead is now a museum.

Services are usually held on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings the smaller Middle Amana meeting house. The large meeting house in Main Amana is used for Sunday School classes (8:30AM) and for special events, such as the Christmas Eve service. The regular Sunday services are either in English (10AM) or in a combination of German and English (8:30AM). At the earlier bilingual service, some prayers and the hymns are in German, and everything else is in English. Sunday meetings begin with quiet contemplation and a hymn. A portion of an inspired testimony by 18th- and 19th-century prophets in the Inspirationalist church may be read, followed by prayers, Bible verses – traditionally with each lay elder reading a single verse of the passage in turn – a sermon, and a Psalm. The service ends with another hymn and a closing prayer. The Sunday service is usually less than one hour long.

Some traditional practices are still observed, and others have been dropped or modified. Hymns and psalms are traditionally sung without accompaniment by piano, organ, or other musical instruments. Men and women do not usually sit together during church services, with men sitting on one side of the room, and women on the other side. However, the traditional seating arrangements are not enforced, especially for children or people with special needs. Women used to wear plain black caps, shawls and aprons to embody equality and the belief that inward devotion is more important than outward adornment. However, this is no longer observed, so you should expect to see modern clothing, such as colorful dresses, and if you attend the services, you should wear whatever you have with you that is appropriate and comfortable.