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Take the European Grand Tour – Texas Style!
From Bohemian enclaves to Scottish festivals, European immigrants left a lasting influence on Texas. Those brave souls had the guts to leave their homes in search of a better life and the grit to survive in a rough-and-tumble land.
Each group brought their culture with them, weaving their food, folktales, music, and art into the rich tapestry of Texan culture. Whether you want to head out for a day tour or a weeklong road trip, you’ll encounter glimpses of Europe in Texas towns and cities where the spirit of the settlers lives on.
Start your journey in West, a small town on Interstate 35 where you’ve probably stopped for kolaches. This Czech community offers more than pastries. Thousands of Bohemian and Moravian immigrants flocked to Texas in the 1850s. Frugal and hardworking, they were looking for land and new lives in the countryside. Many followed the railroad to West in 1881. Within a decade, Czech culture and businesses were thriving.
Descendants of these early homesteaders continue to run many of the businesses in West today, where a scattering of old-timers still speak Czech. West boasts a quiet downtown with little gift shops and antique stores. Try the Czech fries at Picha’s Czech-American Restaurant, with its tin ceilings and beers served in frosty goblets. Dive deeper into the past at the History of West Museum or check out the railroad exhibits inside the restored West Depot.
For the ultimate Czech-Texan celebration, WestFest showcases traditional crafts, cuisine, and oompah music every Labor Day weekend. There’s a polka mass and a Taroky (Czech tarot card game) tournament, plus washer tossing and carnival rides. And of course, no visit to West is complete without picking up a few kolaches for the road.
Once you’re stuffed with kolaches, drive 40 minutes west to Clifton for a touch of Norway. Norwegians first came to Texas in 1854, drawn to the region’s broad, fertile valleys (and free land grants). These settlers spread out in a triangle between Clifton, Norse, and Cranfills Gap. You can see the stunning handiwork of the Norwegian pioneers at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, about 10 miles west of Clifton. Opened in 1875, the red brick church is still in use, and many of the original Norwegian settlers are buried in its cemetery.
If you’re into pretty steepled churches, continue to St. Olaf’s Kirke (aka the Old Rock Church), located just east of Cranfills Gap. Throughout the area, keep an eye out for old limestone homes, some restored, some crumbling, from the mid-1800s. If you’re overnighting in Clifton, you’ll find a handful of eclectic eateries, a vintage theater, and an upscale mini hotel in a converted jailhouse.
Scots loom large in the history of Texas, giving us Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, and Davy Crockett. Over 40% of the state’s original 300 colonists were of Scottish descent. These fiercely independent, freedom-loving Scots influenced the Texan identity so much that it can be difficult to spot Scottish heritage on its own.
But you won’t have that trouble in Salado. In 1824, Salado was part the land that Mexico granted to Stirling Robertson for a colony. He brought in 600 families, almost all of whom were Scottish. Today, Salado hosts the Scottish Gathering & Highland Games every November. Strap on your kilt and kick up your heels with bagpipers and Highland dancers. Watch wild sports with medieval roots, like hammer throwing and caber tossing.
If you can’t make the festival, the Salado Museum provides historical insight and help with genealogical research. Salado’s Stagecoach Inn (built in 1861) is the oldest hotel in Texas, and there are plenty of little shops and restaurants to peruse.
Like their Norwegian cousins, most Swedish homesteaders came to Texas in the mid-1800s. They settled farther south, around Georgetown and Austin. It wasn’t a match made in heaven; the arid climate was too different from the one they left behind. Many Swedes headed to the northern Midwest or simply went home.
But some stayed, and many of their descendants still live around New Sweden, which boasts a stunning relic from 1876: the New Sweden Lutheran Church. While the town of New Sweden has mostly disappeared, this picture-perfect chapel has a 104-foot-tall copper spire beside an unusual onion dome. Some say it’s the most photographed church in Texas.
In the 1840s, great numbers of Germans began to come to Texas, with 40,000 coming between 1865 and 1890 alone. The farmers, craftspeople, and laborers put down roots in a region from Houston through Kerrville and beyond, creating a broad “German Belt” that’s known for its tasty craft brews and barbecue.
No place in Texas is more German than Fredericksburg, where many of the original settlers’ limestone and half-timber houses still stand. Many are “Sunday Houses,” a phenomenon unique to Fredericksburg. Farmers lived in the countryside but built small homes in town to stay when they attended church. Many Sunday houses have been restored, upgraded, and turned into B&Bs.
Stroll to Marketplatz (the main square) to find a replica of the original 19th-century octagonal church, Vereins Kirche. Two blocks away is the Pioneer Museum, where pecan trees shade 35 acres of historical buildings including a smokehouse, log cabin, and one-room schoolhouse. This popular getaway is home to beer gardens, breweries, and German restaurants, plus plenty of shops and wineries. Whether or not you’re one of the 3 million Texas of German descent, you can have a blast at festivals like Oktoberfest, Sangerfest, and Schuetzenfest.
Sailing from Spain in 1527, conquistador Cabeza de Vaca was the first European to set foot in Texas. Spain dominated Texas for the next three centuries as explorers introduced the guns and germs that would forever change the world – not to mention the cattle, horses, and ranching lifestyle integral to the Texan identity. Spain’s widespread impact comes to a peak in San Antonio at the most famous Spanish mission in America: the Alamo.
The Alamo was founded in 1718, joining a string of Spanish outposts designed to convert the natives to Catholicism (and to show France who was boss in the New World). Before the Texas Revolution, the Alamo was a self-sufficient microcosm of Spanish civilization, from religious education to farming and textile production. Today, this symbol of courage is still surrounded by Spain’s indelible imprint.
One of the first French visitors to Texas was the pirate Jean Lafitte, who organized a short-lived “kingdom” on Galveston Island in 1817. In 1842, Henri Castro, an officer in Napoleon’s army, obtained a colony contract, settling 2,000 people from Alsace-Lorraine there. Located in northeastern France on the border with Germany, Alsace-Lorraine is a distinct mix of both cultures, which the farmers brought to their new home: Castroville.
Castroville is distinctly Alsatian. Combining French flair with German precision, the pioneers constructed small half-timbered homes with steeply pitched roofs. Many still exist, giving tiny Castroville an air of rustic elegance. Several have been converted into B&Bs, which is convenient for antiquing and enjoying the outstanding Alsatian bakeries downtown.
Head east to discover Eastern Europe in Serbin, established by a people you’ve probably never heard of: the Wends. While the Wends came from what is now Germany, they are ethnically Slavic, with their own folklore, food, and dress.
The Wends arrived in the 1850s, speaking Sorbian, a language akin to Polish and Russian, and seeking religious freedom. St. Paul Lutheran Church is a beautiful example of Wendish architecture, with the pulpit in the front balcony. Next door is the original log church/schoolhouse, along with the Texas Wendish Heritage Museum, which documents Slavic heritage, from traditional black wedding dresses to elaborately decorated Easter eggs.
Nearby Giddings is also a notable Wendish site with several 19th-century buildings and small museums. The quaint stop has dozens of eateries plus ice cream parlors, murals, and an antique carousel.
On the northern edge of Port Arthur lies Nederland. Founded by the Dutch in 1897, it was advertised in Old World newspapers as a “tropical paradise” with land selling for $8 per acre. The flat, coastal terrain was similar to low-lying Holland, but the climate certainly was not. Early arrivals battled alligators, malaria, and hurricanes. The Dutch grew rice and started the area’s dairy industry, but the success of the colony was ensured with the discovery of oil nearby at Spindletop in 1901.
As their language died out in the 1970s, Dutch descendants constructed the three-story Dutch Windmill Museum to preserve their heritage. This authentic replica houses quirky artifacts like wooden shoes, and its gift shop is stocked with imported treats from Holland.
People from these nine European ethnic groups joined many others to shape Texas as we know it. Their histories have joined to create the Texan identity that we share today. So raise a glass and celebrate all the cultures that make Texas one-of-a-kind.
Na zdravi! Skål! Slàinte Mhath! Skål! Prost! Salud! Salut! K strowosći! Proost! Cheers, y’all!
Raised in the Fort Worth area, Shilo Urban moved to Austin, Maine, Paris, Seattle, New Zealand, and Los Angeles before finding her way home a few years ago. Along the way, she has had over three dozen different jobs, including high school French teacher, record label manager, and farmhand for endangered livestock breeds. She’s traveled to more than 50 countries and always has the next trip planned. Shilo has been a freelance writer for over a decade and has published in Fort Worth Magazine, Fort Worth Weekly, and Afar. Her interests include lost civilizations, jalapeño peppers, and Game of Thrones. She is currently writing a thriller and lives in Fort Worth with the stars of this article, Steve and Lenny.
