On Friday morning we headed south to Schulenburg Texas. Schulenburg is known as a railroad town and halfway to everywhere between San Antonio and Houston. It is most famous for the painted churches in the area and that is what we were planning to tour. The famous Painted Churches are located in 6 very small communities around Schulenburg. Our guided tour started at the Schulenburg Chamber of Commerce.
The first thing one needs to understand is that a tour of the Painted Churches is not a religious tour. It is an architectural and historic tour.
The first tour was in Dubina at the St. Cyril & Methodious Catholic Church. Dubina was the first Czech settlement in Texas established in 1856. The first church was built in 1877 but it was destroyed by a hurricane in 1909. The present church was built in 1911.
The church interiors are wood and painted. They are amazingly beautiful with vaulted painted ceilings with handpainted stars and figures.
The next church was St John the Baptist in Ammansville Texas/
The architecture and beauty of each of these churches is amazing and unique to each church.
The statures are equally intricate and beautiful.
The stained glass windows are also beautiful
Visiting the first two churches and learning about the historical information took over two hour. Our next stop was The Garden Company which is actually a restuarant.
The food was delicious and the decorations unique. These were overhead lighting.
After a delicious lunch we headed out to St Mary Catholic Church in High Hill Texas.
This church is brick and was built in 1869.
It has amazing stained glass windows.
The painted ceilings and walls are breathtaking.
Remember that these churches are all painted. This column may look like marble but it is painted. Marble was too expensive for the church.
This sculptured panel was on the front of the alter.
The final church was the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Praha.
The wooden boards of this ceiling can clearly be seen and are part of the charm. This differentiates this church from the others as they all looked smooth.
The stained glass windows are also very different.
I would highly recommend a tour of the Painted Churches for anyone interested in architecture or beauty. Regardless of your religion or lack of it, it is very interesting. You can take a guided group tour or get a brochure and tour on your own but you will enjoy it.
Wonderful
ReplyDelete