A visit to the Gruene Historic District is an absolute MUST when visiting New Braunfels. It is a quaint area with entertainment, shopping, and eating, and what’s better than that? On my visit to New Braunfels I so enjoyed my visit to Gruene with Judy from In New Braunfels. Here is how I heard the story: in the 1840s a German named Ernst Gruene (pronounced Green) decided to immigrate to start a new life. His fiance was not too crazy about the idea and refused to go. Ernst saw a young woman hanging laundry while walking through his village in Germany, and asked her to marry him and move to America. She said yes. And so they came to New Braunfels in 1845, bought land downriver from the settlement, and ended up building a family, a town, a prosperous cotton business, and his wife, Antoinette, undoubtedly ruled the roost.
While visiting the town I really enjoyed seeing photos of the family. Gruene’s history and historic buildings are a lovely place to wander. There is the Gruene Mansion (now an Inn), the Gruene Dance Hall where music is still played every night and Texans can dance to their heart’s content, a general store, more homes, inns, etc. The district is on the national historic register, and everything is kept up beautifully. Right on the river, one can eat, do wine tasting, shop, and dance. Gruene is a very German, but also very Texan, town. I loved it and can’t wait to go back when I have plenty of leisure time to spend the entire day there. Definitely weekend worthy, folks!
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