Guttenberg is a city in Clayton County, Iowa, United States, along the Mississippi River. The population was 1,817 at the time of the 2020 census, down from 1,987 at the 2000 census. Prairie La Porte, meaning "the door to the prairie," was the first name given to Guttenberg by French explorers in 1673. The Guttenberg area was a site of Sac and Fox campgrounds until 1823. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 transferred ownership to the United States and the Black Hawk Purchase of 1833 finally opened the area for legal settlement.