Since the early 18th Century, an estimated 300,000 Swiss emigrated across the Atlantic and settled in the United States. Thus, more than a million American citizens claim Swiss roots. There’s hardly a place that more proudly celebrates its Swiss ancestry than a small town in Wisconsin: New Glarus. Founded in 1845, the town was founded by emigrants from the Canton of Glarus with which it maintains a close bond. If you are craving for Rösti or the – so we are told – best beer of the region, New Glarus is the place that serves it all!

Bekah Stauffacher helps preserve the Swiss spirit of New Glarus: an archeologist by training and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she is the president and CEO of The Swiss Center of North America, a nonprofit organization located in New Glarus, Wisconsin, that shares the stories of the Swiss in America and Canada through its museum and archives.