Experience the Unique German Heritage

Ideal Vacation Community

New Braunfels, Texas is an ideal vacation community in the Texas Hill Country.

New Braunfels, TX History

The town was founded in 1845 when a German immigrant wagon train made camp at a site on Comal Creek (now Dry Comal Creek) chosen by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels. The town was given the name Braunfels, which was the name of Prince Solms's estate in western Germany.

The Neu Braunfelser Zeitung newspaper, which issued its first edition in 1852, was published continuously in German until 1957. Later, it merged with the English language newspaper, the New Braunfels Herald.

New Braunfels, TX draws tourism from across the state, particularly because of the cold-spring rivers that run through the city. Many people visit during the summer to tube down the Guadalupe River or Comal River. New Braunfels is the site of one of the most famous water parks in the United States, the Schlitterbahn WaterPark Resort.

New Braunfels, Texas – "German" Vacation & Retirement Town

Every fall the city hosts Wurstfest, which is one of the largest German festivals in America. Wurstfest is a ten-day festival featuring sausages and German-style food. Visitors can watch locals demonstrate sausage-making practiced by their forebears who brought their recipes to the Texas wilderness from Germany. They can also see modern methods used today, which have left unchanged the mouth-watering flavors of original recipes. Local German singing clubs and the official City Sausage Band entertain visitors while they view the exhibits of local sausage-makers who produce 152 tons of sausage annually.