The US state of Wisconsin is located in the northern part of the USA. Wisconsin is bordered by Lake Superior and Michigan to the north, Lake Michigan to the east, Illinois to the south, and Iowa and Minnesota to the west.
Almost six million people live here in the state, about as many as in the German state of Hesse. 88% of the population are white, of which about 5% are of Latino and Hispanic descent, 6.5% are African American, about 2.4% are Asian and 1.1% are of Native American origin. Of these, 222,000 citizens live in the capital Madison alone.
In addition, about half of the residents of the state descend from German ancestors. The German immigrants have left their mark on the culinary field. The Pabst, Blatz, Pabst, Schlitz, and Miller breweries made Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s largest city, the beer capital of the United States. Sausages with sauerkraut are a very popular meal here, just like in southern Germany.
The US state of Wisconsin
Haus in Wisconsin
In terms of area, Wisconsin, with 169,639 km², ranks 23rd among the 50 US states and is about twice the size of Bavaria. 28,976 km² (17%) of the national territory are water areas and 46% are covered by forest. There are around 15,000 lakes and large areas of forest in Wisconsin, so numerous tourists from the greater Chicago area regularly travel to the neighboring state to the north.
Geographically, Wisconsin can be divided into 5 regions: The northern Lake Superior Lowland includes an area along Lake Superior. To the south are the Northern Highlands, which are characterized by mixed and coniferous forests, including the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and thousands of glacial lakes. Timms Hill is also the highest point in the state. The Central Plains have some notable sandstone formations in addition to fertile farmland. The Eastern Ridges and Lowlands of the southeast are home to the state’s largest cities. The Western Uplands show an alternation between forests and farmland.
Fans der Greenbay Packers, Wisconsin
The main occupation is still agriculture. The state is nicknamed “America’s Dairyland” because of its intensive dairy farming.
The locals are also jokingly called Cheeseheads, so fans of the famous Green Bay Packers football team prefer to wear hats in the shape of a triangular Emmental.
But Wisconsin also has a strong industrial base. Milwaukee became “America’s toolbox” during the New Deal and World War II era.
The Kohler plumbing factory is based in Sheboygan, Harley-Davidson motorcycles and Briggs & Stratton lawnmowers come from Milwaukee, and the bicycle manufacturer Trek has its headquarters in Waterloo. The mail order company Lands’ End, which is also represented in Germany, has its headquarters in Dodgeville.
The biggest cities
- Milwaukee 595,000
- Madison* 233.000
- Green Bay 104.000
- Kenosha 99.000
- Racine 79.000
Climate and weather
The climate in Wisconsin is continental. Summers can be very hot, winters are usually freezing cold. In summer, there is a fairly fresh, pleasant wind on the coastal areas in the north, on the Great Lakes. Inland, on the other hand, it is hot and dry or muggy, although strong thunderstorms can break out during the muggy periods. Temperatures go up to over 30 degrees in the summer months, although it is always a bit cooler on the coast due to the winds from the lakes. In winter it gets cold and the wind near the coast. It gets coldest in northeastern Wisconsin, with temperatures below -25 degrees often occurring here in winter. But the south is only a few degrees warmer, and snowfall can make the roads mirror-smooth.