As of 1850, Cobán, the capital of Alta Verapaz, had an estimated population of 12000.
Around 1890, British archeologist Alfred Percival Maudslay and his wife came to Guatemala, and visited Cobán.
Around the time the Maudslays visited Verapaz, a German colony had settled in the area thanks to generous concessions granted by liberal presidents Manuel Lisandro Barillas Bercián, José María Reyna Barrios and Manuel Estrada Cabrera.
The Germans had a very united and solid community and had several activities in the German Club (Deutsche Verein), in Cobán, which they had founded in 1888.
 Their main commercial activity was coffee plantations.
Maudslay described the Germans like this: "There is a larger proportion of foreigners in Coban than in any other towns in the Republic: they are almost exclusively Germans engaged in coffee-planting, and some few of them in cattle-ranching and other industries; although complaints of isolation and of housekeeping and labour troubles are not unheard of amongst them, they seemed to me to be fortunate from a business point of view in the high reputation that the Vera Paz coffee holds in the market, and the very considerable commercial importance which their industry and foresight has brought to the district; and, from a personal point of view, in the enjoyment of a delicious climate in which their rosy-cheeked children can be reared in health and strength, and in all the comforts which pertain to a life half European and half tropical.
Hotels or fondas appear to be scarce; but the hospitality of the foreign residents is proverbial."

The city was developed by German coffee growers towards the end of the 19th century and was operated as a largely independent dominion until World War II.
In 1888 a German club was founded and in 1935 a German school opened its doors in Cobán.
Until 1930, about 2000 Germans populated the city.
In 1941, all Germans were expelled by the Guatemalan government, led at the time by Jorge Ubico, because of pressure from the United States; it has also been suggested that Ubico wanted to seize control of the vast amounts of land Germans owned in the area.
Many ended up in internment camps in Texas and were later traded for American POWs held in Germany.
A sizable resident German population persists though, most completely assimilated into the Guatemalan culture through intermarriage.
Multiple German architectural elements still remain throughout Cobán.

The Germans also set up Ferrocarril Verapaz, a railway which connected Cobán with Lake Izabal, operated from 1895 until 1963 and was a symbol for the wealth in this coffee-growing region those days.
As of 1850, Cobán, the capital of Alta Verapaz, had an estimated population of 12000. Around 1890, British archeologist Alfred Percival Maudslay and his wife came to Guatemala, and visited Cobán. Around the time the Maudslays visited Verapaz, a German colony had settled in the area thanks to generous concessions granted by liberal presidents Manuel Lisandro Barillas Bercián, José María Reyna Barrios and Manuel Estrada Cabrera. The Germans had a very united and solid community and had several activities in the German Club (Deutsche Verein), in Cobán, which they had founded in 1888.  Their main commercial activity was coffee plantations. Maudslay described the Germans like this: "There is a larger proportion of foreigners in Coban than in any other towns in the Republic: they are almost exclusively Germans engaged in coffee-planting, and some few of them in cattle-ranching and other industries; although complaints of isolation and of housekeeping and labour troubles are not unheard of amongst them, they seemed to me to be fortunate from a business point of view in the high reputation that the Vera Paz coffee holds in the market, and the very considerable commercial importance which their industry and foresight has brought to the district; and, from a personal point of view, in the enjoyment of a delicious climate in which their rosy-cheeked children can be reared in health and strength, and in all the comforts which pertain to a life half European and half tropical. Hotels or fondas appear to be scarce; but the hospitality of the foreign residents is proverbial."
The city was developed by German coffee growers towards the end of the 19th century and was operated as a largely independent dominion until World War II. In 1888 a German club was founded and in 1935 a German school opened its doors in Cobán. Until 1930, about 2000 Germans populated the city. In 1941, all Germans were expelled by the Guatemalan government, led at the time by Jorge Ubico, because of pressure from the United States; it has also been suggested that Ubico wanted to seize control of the vast amounts of land Germans owned in the area. Many ended up in internment camps in Texas and were later traded for American POWs held in Germany. A sizable resident German population persists though, most completely assimilated into the Guatemalan culture through intermarriage. Multiple German architectural elements still remain throughout Cobán.
The Germans also set up Ferrocarril Verapaz, a railway which connected Cobán with Lake Izabal, operated from 1895 until 1963 and was a symbol for the wealth in this coffee-growing region those days.
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