ST. CHARLES/MISSOURI
St. Charles/Missouri
St. Charles/Missouri lies on the Missouri River, shortly before it joins the Mississippi,
in the state of Missouri.
It is about 12 miles from St. Louis/Missouri, which is twinned with Stuttgart.
The small town of Washington/Missouri, about 12 miles from St. Charles/Missouri, is twinned with
Marbach/am Neckar.
St. Charles/Missouri has about 70,000 inhabitants and is one of the fastest-growing communities in the U.S.A.
From 1821-1862, St. Charles/Missouri was the capital of the newly-founded state of Missouri.
It was founded by French settlers and remained for a long time under French and Spanish influence.
In the first half of the 19th century, systematic immigration,
mainly from the German Palatinate, brought it more and more under German influence,
as is testified by numerous German place-names in this part of Missouri. German heritage clubs play an important
role in the area to this day. Buergermeisterball and Oktoberfest are important dates for the citizens of St.
Charles/Missouri,
who are mainly of German origin.
For decades, St.Charles/Missouri was the starting-point for the opening-up and the settlement of the American West.
As the last outpost of civilized America, the town was the beginning of many trails leading West.
The famous expedition of Lewis and Clark started here in 1804. The carefully restored town center of St.
Charles/Missouri,
with its many historic buildings, reminds us of these days.
The twinning activities of the last years have shown that both towns are very suitable for a twinship
as they have many things in common.
Our cooperation with the Sister Cities Programs and the German Heritage Club has proved very successful
and is increasingly sustained by many personal contacts.