Painted Churches Tour - Schulenburg TX

The wildflowers were stunningly beautiful, as we traveled from San Antonio to Schulenburg, however, it was impossible to get any great shots while traveling 65 mph down the freeway, so I had to be satisfied with  a shot of this gorgeous pasture just out of Schulenburg, as we traveled from one painted church to the other.

Dave and I discovered painted churches  while on a cruise in Hawaii, and have been fascinated by them since.      

What, you ask, is a painted church?  Well here is a beautiful example.

This artwork was done by a Swiss artist, in 1895, and can be found at the 

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Praha, TX.

I managed to bring my camera, but did not have a flash card in it, so was trying to take pics with our pitiful, little instamatic, so needless to say, my pictures do not do justice to the grandeur of these paintings.

The link above will give you a much better view of how truly beautiful the interior of the church is.  I am amazed that these paintings have never been retouched.  

Just goes to show that some things can last forever.  

This little church in Freyburg was my favorite.  Although it did not have the artist renderings that I normally associate with a painted church, I had a feeling of home as I walked through the door.  I could feel the love from the moment we turned in the driveway.  Everything was just immaculate, and there was that musty smell that only an old building can have.  I wish I had gotten some pictures of the old wooden benches, and railings.

I could sense the feeling of pride this little community must have felt, each Sunday,

 as they gathered in this place of worship.

  It definitely made the history books come alive for me.

  The next time we travel I-10 from Houston to San Antonio, I want to return to this little church. 

 I loved the artist rendering of this church building in Swiss Alp, TX.

As with many historical buildings, there was a lot of modern additions blocking the view of the building, so I just did not get any good pictures, however you can see a beautiful professional portrait here

This community chose to build their church and cemetery in the traditional sense.  They are adjoining on the same grounds.  I would have loved to have spent more time exploring everything, but alas, there were still many more things to see, and places to go.

I am sure that St Mary's Catholic Church at High Hill, TX, was, as advertised, "the Queen of the Painted Churches," however, they were evidently cleaning and doing repairs in preparation for Easter weekend, so scaffolding was up, which prevented us from really being able to enjoy the majesty of the building.  

I did get this one shot from the rear of the building, but you can't really see too many details.  It was very ornate, detailed, and beautiful, and we will return on another trip to take it all in.

When you are traveling between Houston and San Antonio on I-10, you would never dream Schulenburg has so much to offer.  It is really a very interesting little town, with German and Czech history galore, and definitely worth a return visit.

Because we had the RV with us, we stayed at the Schulenburg RV Park, right off the freeway, and very easy to get in and out of.  Although they advertise that you can walk to nine different eating establishments, it did not seem that convenient to me.  We got in late evening, so just walked to the Dairy Queen next door.   The next morning we did drive down to the Kountry Bakery  for kolaches, or as they call them, pigs in a blanket.

We thoroughly enjoyed Schulenburg, and would recommend a day trip from Houston or San Antonio.

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