Ethnic Texans

Written by historian Terry Jordan, this page is an excellent brief on German-Americans in Texas.

The Beethoven Maennerchor’s purpose is to preserve German song, music, and language. It is the one of the oldest German singing societies in Texas. Located in beautiful downtown San Antonio, in the Historic King William District, the Beethoven Maennerchor has stood as a beacon of culture and heritage since its founding in February of 1867.

As a nonprofit organization the German-heritage Society is committed to the preservation of the history and heritage of German-Texans by promoting and providing educational experiences in its culture and language and by encouraging within Texas public schools, colleges, private institutions and other organizations similar learning opportunities in all of the heritage, values and language that make up the unique culture of the state.

The Texas German Dialect Project (TGDP) is an umbrella organization for carrying out research in representative Texas German speech communities in central Texas. It is housed in the Department of Germanic Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.

The Texas German Society (TGS) has as its purpose to preserve and encourage the German heritage, culture, and language of German-Texans and to continue these through communication, exchange, and good will with our fellow German-Americans and German people in other lands.

The Texas Polka Music Museum, Inc. (TPMM) is dedicated to preserving the history and legacy of polka music in Texas by honoring Texas polka bands and musicians of Czech, German and Polish ancestry.

Located in downtown Fredericksburg, feature historic homesteads & buildings donated by founding families of Gillespie County. Among the historic homesteads & buildings are a one-room schoolhouse, a log cabin, a Sunday house, a bath house, a barn, a smokehouse that showcase artifacts and architecture which help to preserve and tell their story.

Celebrated annually in May, this festival celebrates German traditions in Brenham.

Annually held on the last full weekend in April, this festival celebrates German heritage. German settlers founded Muenster in 1889.

What started out by a small group of German teachers over 50 years ago as an idea to help encourage the study of German and make it fun, has now evolved into a competition with over 1,500 students from more than 90 schools across Texas participating in more than 40 different events at the state level. This makes the Texas system of German contests the largest in the nation and the only one of its kind.

During the 10-day festival, you’ll find a variety of entertainment, food and fun on the Wurstfest Grounds in Landa Park as well as many special events throughout New Braunfels and Comal County.