Village of Wittenberg, Shawano County, Wisconsin: Place Profile

No recurring village festival was confirmed from the village pages read this session; 2026 notices covered swim lessons, a community vision survey, and a vision planning open house with Martenson & Eisele.

The municipality is the Village of Wittenberg, an incorporated village in Shawano County, Wisconsin (Census place GEOID 5588325).

Wittenberg is a village governed by a village board of a president and six trustees.

The Village of Wittenberg (GEOID 5588325, 1,015 residents in 2020) is distinct from the surrounding Town of Wittenberg (GEOID 5511588350, 823 residents in 2020).

The Village of Wittenberg covers 1.811 square miles of land and no water area.

The village's Census internal point is near 44.826881, -89.166583.

The village says it sits at the intersection of U.S. Highway 45 and State Highway 29, about a 30-minute drive to Wausau.

The 2020 Census counted 1,015 residents in the Village of Wittenberg.

The Wisconsin DOA estimates the village's population at 966 as of January 1, 2025.

The Census Bureau's July 1, 2024 estimate for the village is 978 (2020 estimates base 1,013).

The village's Fast Facts page gives a combined village and town population of 1,860, and its About page says 'nearly 1300'; both are undated self-descriptions.

The ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimate of the village's population is 992 (+/-129).

The ACS 2019-2023 median age in the village is 41.1 years (+/-9.8).

The ACS 2019-2023 median household income in the village is $51,875 (+/-$13,266).

The ACS 2019-2023 median value of owner-occupied homes in the village is $124,600 (+/-$25,073).

William Switalla is Village Board President.

The village board trustees are David Timm, Paul Yaeger, Theresa Gatz, Renee Switalla, Marlene Wepner, and Barb Buchholz.

Traci Matsche is Clerk/Treasurer (715-253-6063), and Shannon Jarvis is Deputy Clerk-Treasurer.

The state Municipal Data System lists the Village of Wittenberg (DOA code 59191) clerk as Traci Matsche, [email address], with the village office at 208 W. Vinal Street and mailing address PO Box 331.

The Village Board meets on the first and third Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m.

Board agendas are posted at Associated Bank, Banner Bank, the Wittenberg Post Office, and the Clerk's Office.

The village website carries an Agendas & Minutes page that loads its list from the Town Web platform.

The village office is at 208 W. Vinal Street, Wittenberg, WI 54499 (PO Box 331).

The village's official website is villageofwittenberg.com.

Village staff include Fire Chief Glen Bunnell, Ambulance Director Cory Polley, sewer and water superintendent Joel Yaeger, and building inspector Mike Block; the village runs its own sewer and water utility.

The village has no police department of its own; the Shawano County Sheriff's Department serves it and keeps an office in the community center.

The Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District (NCES 5517100) covers the village; it is a PK-12 district of 3 schools with 1,175 students and 78.94 FTE classroom teachers in 2024-25, based at 400 W Grand Ave, Wittenberg.

Public schools with a Wittenberg address are Wittenberg Elementary at 300 S Prouty St and Wittenberg-Birnamwood High at 400 W Grand Ave.

TIGERweb returns only the Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District for the village's boundary.

Northcentral Technical College has a campus in Wittenberg.

Shawano County had 892 business establishments and 10,135 paid employees in 2023, including 2,429 in manufacturing.

The village names its largest employers as Nueske's Applewood Smoked Meats (134 employees), Top Brass Inc. (61), the Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District (175), Homme Inc. (178), and Homme Youth and Family Programs (90).

Nueske's Applewood Smoked Meats was founded in 1933 by R.C. Nueske, remains in the village, and is family-owned in its third generation; the Nueske's Company Store is also in Wittenberg.

The Wittenberg Business Park covers 72 acres, with about 18 acres ready for immediate development and fiber, cable, water, sewer, gas, and electric in place; land is priced at $10,000 per acre with a $300,000-per-acre minimum assessed value.

The village's About page lists a grocery store, two hardware stores, auto repair and parts shops, restaurants, a hotel with banquet facilities, a pharmacy, two banking facilities, and a funeral home among local businesses.

The village puts itself about 30 minutes from Wausau and 60 minutes from Green Bay or Appleton.

The Wittenberg Area Development Corporation assists new and existing businesses.

WVRN (FM, 88.9 MHz) is licensed to Wittenberg; its licensee is VCY America, Inc.

W26EE-D is a low-power digital TV station licensed to Wittenberg, held by VCY America, Inc.

NEW Media Inc. of Shawano publishes local news covering Wittenberg; its home page carried a story on a Ho-Chunk Gaming Wittenberg summer concert. Wausau Wire's source roster lists a Wittenberg paper among its titles, but the outlet's home page does not name it.

Fire and ambulance service comes from the Wittenberg Area Fire/Ambulance Protective Services District.

The Wittenberg Branch Library of the Shawano County Library is at 302 South Cherry Street.

IMLS lists one public library outlet in Wittenberg: the Wittenberg Branch.

The village names the Wittenberg Post Office as one of its official agenda posting locations.

The village's Fast Facts page lists four hospitals within 30 miles rather than one in the village, and its About page lists two medical clinics and Homme Inc. elder care.

The village community center has a large hall, kitchen, and meeting rooms and is used for voting, bill paying, and meetings.

The village has two parks, Washington Park on Webb Street and Pond Park on Vinal Street, plus softball and baseball fields; Panic Park lies north of the village in the Town of Wittenberg, on Hemlock Road.

Pond Park has a shelter with electricity, a playground, a basketball court, restrooms, and a pond with fishing for children.

The Darwin A. Smith Aquatic Center has an Olympic-sized pool, a heated exercise and wading pool, and a hot tub open to the public.

The village promotes the Mountain-Bay State Trail (83 miles between Weston and the Green Bay area) and the Wiouwash State Trail, which meet in nearby Eland.

Walls of Wittenberg, Inc., a nonprofit formed in 2005, has supported more than 18 downtown murals.

The village's list of area attractions includes Maple Hills Golf Course, a Ho-Chunk Nation casino, Resch Lanes, and Nueske Applewood Smoked Meats.

The village says Rev. E.J. Homme founded Wittenberg in 1879 and established a home for the aged and an orphanage, whose successors still operate in Wittenberg.

A Wittenberg Indian School, also called the Bethany Indian Mission, opened in 1886 under the Norwegian Evangelical Church of America, was sold to the federal government in 1900, and closed in 1917.

USGS GNIS records a populated place named Wittenberg in Shawano County at 44.8271951, -89.1695568.