Texas Painted Churches

M38A1

Located in central Texas are what's referred to as the Texas Painted Churches. These are old (by Texas standards) churches, typically in very small communities, each of which has been intricately hand painted and the figures hand carved, all of which maintained in pristine condition for many years. These churches were, and continue to be the religious backbone of many small towns in Texas. Most are open to the public and only a few have limited access during non-service hours.

The four I visited were located in Fayette County and included St. John the Baptist Church (1890) in Ammannsville, Sts Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church (1856) in Dubina, St. Mary Roman Catholic Church (1906) in High Hill, and St. Mary's Church (1892) in Praha, Texas.

Photographs (including mine) do not do justice to the work of these magnificent little churches. They are simply amazing. Here's a few of my favorites. Hope you enjoy them.

C&C Welcome...

St. John the Baptist Church (1890) Ammannsville, TX








Sts Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church (1856) Dubina, TX




St. Mary Roman Catholic Church (1906) High Hill, TX








St. Mary's Church (1892) Praha, TX

TUeltzen

Absolutely beautiful. I really like the first one.

Big.Tater

Awesome Scott. I myself have been on this same journey and taken pictures of these GREAT churches. You are correct, VERY difficult to capture the true beauty of each of these churches. My wife and I were not able to get in a few of these since we hit them during the week, but most will at least let you open the doors and look inside at least.

Not far down the road in Shiner, TX is another that is extremely large, but also extremely beautiful. Thanks for sharing and bringing back great memories.

M38A1

Thanks for the comments!

And WELCOME Big.Tater....

rpcrowe

Lovely images to capture a piece of history. Alhough I think that most Americans are fairly familiar with the Hispanic heritage of Texas, few non-Texans realize the rich European heritage of that state with German, Swiss, Czech. Irish and many other national communities.

jpope42

NIce! I'm originally from Caldwell county, Texas and I didn't know about these. You've done a really good job capturing them. If you have a chance to scout the Hill Country above New Braunfels there are some good examples there, too.

Seneca

Those are some tack-sharp pictures. Love them all.

ruexp2

Beautiful ... I liked the 2nd to last one, great lighting.