Texas Painted Churches – A Budget Weekend Getaway

Out west of Houston or East of San Antonio in the area of Schulenburg you will find the painted churches. These are old churches that were built by early settlers and they were built and painted in such a That would be Ascension Catholic Church in Moravia. This is my favorite because every time I was at my grandparents and especially at Easter and Christmas that is where we went to Mass. The ceiling is painted with murals as well as the walls. The best way to get there is to take 957 southwest out of Schulenburg

Just a short trip down the road from Moravia take FM 532 to fm 1295. You will arrive at St Mary’s Parish in Praha. This one of the most elaborate of the Texas painted churches. The town of Praha is somewhat of a ghost town, but the church is definitely worth the visit. A good time to visit is August 15. This is the Feast of the Assumption and they have a church bazaar of sorts. The food and fun are great and it gives an opportunity to visit the church. The ceilings are painted and there is a lot of ornate wood work.

Another of the prominent painted churches is in the community of High Hill just north west of Schulenburg. This church is absolutely beautiful. I have had problems finding it open, but usually Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning have been good times. One can always attend mass at any of these churches for the full experience. High hill is located northwest of Schulenburg on 2672

You will find other painted churches in the small towns in the area. Two other notables are St Cyril and Methodius in Dubina anway as to remind them of the churches of their home country whether that is Germany or Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic). These churches are definitely worth the drive. ]

Saturday is the best day to the week to make the drive as that is the day most of them have the doors unlocked. They have to lock them most of the time due to vandalism and the prevention of such. I can’t imagine who would vandalize these works of art, nonetheless, it has happened.

I will begin with my favorite of al the painted churches.d St John the Baptist in Ammansville.

There are several others in the area such as Shiner and Serbin. You might even find some that are not publicized anywhere. That would be a good area to get lost and just see what you can find in these small towns.

In order to get more information contact the Schulenburg Chamber of Commerce and some of the local restaurants. They can be a wealth of information as most of the people working in these restaurants are parishioners of some fine old churches.