St. Mary's Church of the Assumption (Praha, Texas)

Contents

St. Mary's Church of the Assumption is a historic church on FM 1295 in Praha, Texas.

It was built in 1895 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[1] Gottfried Flury, a Swiss-born artist from Moulton, TX, painted much of the interior.[2] Using a combination of stenciling, infill painting, and freehand techniques, Flury's trompe-l'œil designs mimic stone vaults and Gothic tracery reminiscent of central European models.[3] The ornate polychrome interior of St. Mary's Church of the Assumption is typical of the so-called "Painted Churches of Texas" constructed by immigrants who settled in the region in the nineteenth century.

Plan

The church has a rectangular plan consisting of a five-bay nave with side aisles terminated by a polygonal apse.

References

  1. 1."National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form: Churches with Decorative Interior Painting TR" (PDF). National Park Service. 1983.
  2. 2."The Painted Churches of Texas". www.klru.org. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  3. 3.Harwood, Buie (1993). Decorating Texas : decorative painting in the Lone Star State from the 1850s to the 1950s. Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press. p. 29. ISBN 9780875651149. OCLC 26930603.