The Gottscheer Club of Cleveland, Ohio is the oldest Gottscheer organization in North America. In the late nineteenth century, many people from Gottschee immigrated to North America Gottschee was once a settlement of Austrians in what is now Slovenia, which was itself once Yugoslavia. It was called a Deutsche Sprachinsel—a linguistic island of German speakers, surrounded by a sea of Slavic speakers.

Many of these people from Gottschee settled in the Cleveland area and worked in labor intensive industries. Since there were no social security benefits or labor unions back then, they decided to provide aid to one another. So the The First Austrian Mutual Aid Society, or Erster Österreichischer Unterstützungs Verein, was born.Read their interesting history.

In November they hosted their annual Oktoberfest at the club and Mark A. Zamiska sent us these photos.

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Gottscheer Club of Cleveland, OhioE.O.U.V. Oktoberfest8636 Pekin Road, Novelty OhioNovember 8, 2025

Stay informed about the local German and Austrian and... communities and the other ethnic groups in Cleveland by signing up for the free Ethnic Cleveland eNews mailings. It's easy and free.Fill out the form for the free Ethnic Cleveland eNews.

Gottscheer Club of Cleveland, Ohio
E.O.U.V. Oktoberfest
8636 Pekin Road, Novelty Ohio
November 8, 2025

Stay informed about the local German and Austrian and... communities and the other ethnic groups in Cleveland by signing up for the free Ethnic Cleveland eNews mailings. It's easy and free.
Fill out the form for the free Ethnic Cleveland eNews.