The city's name is a combination of two German words: Franken for the region of Franconia in Bavaria from which the original settlers came, and Mut (formerly spelled as Muth[a]) which means "courage".

[8] The group of settlers left Germany aboard the Caroline on April 20, 1845, and arrived at Castle Garden in New York seven weeks later.

Sailing then on the Nelson Smith, the settlers made their way to Saginaw and traveled over land to what is now the city of Frankenmuth.

However, their attempts to convert the local groups failed because most of the Native Americans were forced away within a few years.

[9] The settlers selected a hilly area that reminded them of their native Mittelfranken and began building rough shelters there.

[2] The nearby villages of Frankenlust, Frankentrost, and Frankenhilf (now known as Richville) further illustrate that the area remained a magnet for other Germans emigrating from the same region.

In late 2022, it was announced that the Bavarian Inn Lodge would break ground on a $80 million, 140,000 square foot expansion of the resort, with the water park becoming the largest indoor park in Michigan and the 4th largest in the world.

[citation needed] The strong influence of Franconian-style architecture can be found in most areas of the city.

Zehnder's Holzbrücke (German for wooden bridge) is a wooden covered bridge, built in a style similar to those of the Black Forest or a river in Switzerland, over the Cass River in the middle of town.

Though completed in 1979, the two-lane structure was constructed using traditional covered-bridge timber framing techniques.

Approximately 20,000 board feet (47 m3) of Douglas Fir make up the rafters, and the roof is shingled with cedar.

Located at 601 Weiss Street, it is home to many community activities, festivals, and large events.

The Harvey E. Kern Community Pavilion is the newest addition, and has become a focal point of the park.

[27] A 900-pound, 10-foot twisted piece of I-beam steel recovered from the remains of the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center destroyed on 9/11/2001 stands outside the Frankenmuth joint police/fire department headquarters on the fire department's side of the building.

Donated to the Frankenmuth Fire Department during the cleanup and recovery operations in New York City following the destruction of the Twin Towers by Al Qaeda hijacked aircraft and subsequent collapse of the two 110-story buildings, the piece of steel, mounted on a granite base shaped like The Pentagon, allows visitors to look at the historical piece of American history, and read about the events of that tragic day on the panels located on the base of the memorial.

It is released on a weekly basis (Wednesday for news stands and Thursday for residential) and focuses on issues of local concern.