German-Texan Heritage Society

THE PRESERVATION OF THE HISTORY AND HERITAGE OF GERMAN-TEXANS BY PROMOTING AND PROVIDING EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES IN ITS CULTURE AND LANGUAGE AND BY ENCOURAGING LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES IN ALL OF THE HERITAGE VALUES AND LANGUAGE THAT MAKE UP THE CULTURE OF OUR STATE.

GERMAN TRADITIONS AND HERITAGE EVENTS AND FESTIVALS: MAIFEST, OKTOBERFEST AND CHRISTMAS MARKET ARE TRADITIONAL GERMAN FESTIVALS HELD FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC IN AUSTIN,TEXAS AND SURROUNDING AREAS OF CENTRAL TEXAS. TOTAL ATTENDANCE EXCEEDED 7,000. WE ARE NOW STARTING TO SEE THE SAME LEVELS IN THE POST COVID TIMES. PUBLICATIONS: MORE THAN 800 GTHS JOURNALS, WHICH HAS BEEN IN PUBLICATION FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS,WERE SENT OUT TO OVER 750 MEMBERS VIA PRINT AND/OR ONLINE. WE SEND OUT DAILY AND WEEKLY E-FORMAT COMMUNICATIONS VIA OUR SOCIAL MEDIA AND EMAIL PLATFORMS TO THOUSANDS OF SUBSCRIBERS AND FOLLOWERS. WE MAINTAIN AND UPDATE A WEBSITE (GERMANTEXANS.ORG) WITH GERMAN TEXAN INFORMATION AND HIGHLIGHTS UPCOMING EVENTS AND HAPPENINGS WITH GTHS CULTURAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDE SPEAKER EVENTS SCHEDULED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

EDUCATIONAL CLASSES AND MEETING GERMAN LANGUAGE CLASSES: DURING THE PAST YEAR, OVER 600 ADULTS ATTENDED VARIOUS LEVELS OF GERMAN COURSES IN AUSTIN, SAN ANTONIO ALONG WITH ONLINE/REMOTE LEARNING. OVER 250 CHILDREN IN THE AGE RANGE FROM 3-14 YEARS WERE ENROLLED IN AUSTIN, SAN ANTONIO, HOMESCHOOL AND ONLINE. ADDITIONALLY,WE HAD SEVERAL ONE WEEK SUMMER CAMPS THAT ATTRACTED OVER 90 CHILDREN IN THE MONTHS OF JUNE, JULY AND AUGUST, BOTH IN AUSTIN AND SAN ANTONIO. WE HAVE A GERMAN PRE-K AND KINDERGARTEN WITH 21 KIDS ATTENDING DAILY. THIS PROGRAM IS IN ITS THIRD YEAR. WE HOLD WEEKLY STAMMTISCH, A LUNCHTIME GATHERING ALLOWING PEOPLE TO SPEAK GERMAN, IN THE HISTORICAL GERMAN FREE SCHOOL BUILDING OR VIA ONLINE. WE RECENTLY STARTED A BUSINESS STAMMTISCH WHICH MEETS MONTHLY AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN AUSTIN. ON AVERAGE 10 ADULTS ATTEND THIS WEEKLY PROGRAM. THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE, HELD IN BOERNE IS A ONE DAY EVENT HELD IN COORDINATION WITH LOCAL GERMAN TEXAN HISTORICAL GROUPS.

HISTORIC PRESERVATION & IMPROVEMENTS WE REPAIR AND MAINTAIN OUR HISTORIC HEADQUARTERS BUILDINGS, THE GERMAN FREE SCHOOL BUILT IN 1857. IT HAS A TEXAS HISTORICAL MARKERAS TO ITS HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE. THE BUILDING IS OPEN FOR TOURS. WE SEEK GRANT FUNDING TO CONTINUE PRESERVING THE BUILDINGTHROUGH REPAIRS AND SAFETY/SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS. THE FREE SCHOOL, BUILT IN 1857; AS DESIGNATED BY ITS TEXAS HISTORICAL MARKER. THEBUILDING IS OPEN FOR TOURS EVERY WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AND BY APPOINTMENT. WE SEEK GRANT FUNDING FROM THE AUSTIN CONVENTION ANDVISITORS BUREAU AS NEEDED FOR PRESERVATION REPAIRS AND IMPROVEMENTS TO THE EXTERIOR OF THE BUILDING.