What was the first non-English language Wikipedia edition created?

The German Wikipedia was the first non-English Wikipedia edition created. It was launched on 16 March 2001, only about two months after the English Wikipedia began.

Its original subdomain was deutsche.wikipedia.com, and Jimmy Wales announced its creation on the same day. The German project was initially connected with efforts to translate material from Nupedia, the more formal expert-written encyclopedia that helped inspire Wikipedia.

A common mix-up involves the Catalan Wikipedia. German was the first non-English subdomain, but Catalan became the first non-English edition to contain articles. The German Wikipedia therefore wins the “created first” distinction, while Catalan is often associated with the first non-English article content.

The earliest surviving German Wikipedia article is “Polymerase-Kettenreaktion,” dated May 2001. The edition later became known for stricter inclusion standards and a preference for substantial, well-sourced articles over very short stubs.