German Village
Red-brick cottages and cobbled streets left by 19th-century German immigrants. The Book Loft, a maze of bookshops, and Schiller Park are the highlights, and the area is packed with restaurants and cafés.
German Village lies just south of downtown. Large numbers of German immigrants settled here in the mid-19th century, leaving behind red-brick cottages, wrought-iron fences, and cobbled streets. In the 1960s, residents began preserving the neighborhood on their own initiative. Today it is one of the largest privately restored historic districts in the United States.
The must-visit spot is The Book Loft, a maze of 32 interconnected independent bookshop rooms. Schiller Park has a statue of the poet Friedrich Schiller and hosts outdoor theater in summer. The neighborhood also has Schmidt’s Sausage Haus, a German sausage restaurant famous for its cream puffs, along with beer halls and cafés.
A walking tour of the whole area is free and takes about 2 hours. Street parking requires payment.
Opening hours
All day (bookstore approx. 10:00–22:00)
Nearby sights
- Topiary Park
- Ohio Statehouse
- Scioto Mile
- Columbus Museum of Art
- COSI (Center of Science and Industry)
- National Veterans Memorial and Museum
- North Market
- Short North Arts District