German Canadian Club Hansa
The German Canadian Club Hansa is a Centre for German Cultural Heritage in Ontario's Peel Region. It is more commonly referred to as Hansa Haus.
History
Since the late 18th century, German settlers have been among the most dominant cultural groups settling and developing Ontario's southern regions. A portion of Germans emigrating their home country post World War II settled in southern Ontario's Brampton and the surrounding areas. At that time Brampton and Peel County had many nurseries and farms where they found employment, or started their own businesses in trades they had learned in Germany before immigrating. The German Canadian Club Hansa was officially registered. in March 1958 and its first club house purchased in 1962. A new clubhouse named "Hansa Haus" was purchased in November 1973. Since then the Hansa Haus's primary focus as a social club has expanded to include Business operations and a cultural centre. The second floor of the old clubhouse was converted into a German Heritage Museum which opened in the fall of 1983.
Present
Since the 1980's, Hansa Haus has developed with varying success. The club's last major board change in 2011 and the newly elected President, Robert Gutwein - despite some internal opposition - overhauled the club's finances and activities, refocusing on the long-term future of the Hansa Haus Cultural Centre for its members and surrounding community activities. As part of this, the board rekindled the long standing Hansa Haus Christmas Market tradition and intends to develop its annual "Hansa goes Classic" event of classical music, opera, operetta and MusicAL theatre into a major cultural event for the region.
See also
- Germans
- Ethnic German
- Canadians of German ethnicity
References
- Hansa Haus history written in 1983
- Creating the National Mosaic: Multiculturalism in Canadian Children's Literature from 1950 To 1994
- Secret Toronto: The Unique Guidebook to Toronto's Hidden Sites, Sounds & Tastes
Further reading
- History of Ours by the German Canadian Association of Brantford
- 200 Years Yonge: A History
External links
- www.hansahaus.ca Official Web Site