New Braunfels

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way back in 1845, when Texas was still its own republic, a prince, an actual prince, showed up and planted a city. Prince Karl of Solms-Braunfels.

Now you don't hear that combination of words every day in Central Texas, but there it is. He founded New Braunfels, and from that moment forward, this place became the focal point of German immigration into central and western Texas. Not just a stop along the way.

The focal point. Germans came, and they kept coming, drawn toward the hills and the rivers and whatever it was Prince Karl had seen when he first set eyes on this ground. When the Civil War came, New Braunfels sent men and goods to the Confederacy, doing what towns in that era did, bearing the weight of a war that touched everything.

But the town endured. It always did. Today New Braunfels stands as a historic center, a recreational center, a tourist center, home to Landa Park and the Sophienburg Museum, places that carry the memory and the spirit of everything that came before.

And then there is the Comal River, quiet, persistent, running right through the heart of things. The Comal is known as the shortest large-volume river in the United States. A prince founded the town.

A river defined it. Some legacies just run deep.

What the marker says

Founded in Republic of Texas, 1845, by Prince Karl of Solms-Braunfels. Focal point of German immigration to central and western Texas. Sent men, goods to Confederacy, in Civil War. Historic, recreational, tourist center. Site of Landa Park and Sophienburg Museum. The Comal is known as shortest large-volume river in U.S.