The Amana Colonies are seven villages on 26,000 acres (110 km2) located in Iowa County in east-central Iowa, United States: Amana, East Amana, High Amana, Middle Amana, South Amana, West Amana, and Homestead. The villages were built and settled by German Radical Pietists, who were persecuted in their homeland by the German state government and the Lutheran Church. Calling themselves the True Inspiration Congregations, they first settled in New York near Buffalo in what is now the town of West Seneca. However, seeking more isolated surroundings, they moved to Iowa in 1856. They lived a communal life until 1932.