Witajcže K’nam
The following article was written by Trudla Malinkowa for an issue of the Sorbian cultural magazine Rozhlad. Her original article was written in Wendish; however, she graciously translated the original to German, and David Goeke translated the German to English. We express our sincere gratitude to Trudla for sharing her...
Few could have imagined that the small Wendish Culture Club chartered by five women in the early 1970s would blossom into today’s Texas Wendish Heritage Society and one of the most important Wendish gatherings outside of Germany. It’s a long way from Budyšin to Serbin, and it’s a...
When I started making bonnets over five years ago, I would draft a pattern for each of the bonnets in our Museum collection or of the bonnets loaned to me for our exhibit. I would then sew the bonnet and model it for my family. My husband, Chuck,...
Museum / News / Traditions
As announced in the last issue of our newsletter, we were awarded a grant from the Texas Historical Foundation to support the development of a collection of visual media for an interactive display that will be installed in the Peter Building. Since receiving the award, we have purchased a tablet...
Five years ago, for our 40th anniversary, we honored the five women who started our society by encouraging everyone to wear bonnets and hats to our events that year. These five women wore bonnets at the Folklife Festival and made them to sell in their booth. We developed a large display consisting of the...
One of our members recently suggested that we occasionally include a recipe – perhaps a traditional Wendish dish, or one that harks back to our ancestors’ early days in Texas. So we are issuing a challenge to all you readers. Send us your favorite recipes that have been...
Presented By Students at St. Paul Lutheran Serbin The age-old Wendish custom called Ptači kwas (the Bird’s Wedding) was presented by the students of St. Paul Lutheran School at Serbin on Sunday, January 25, 2015. Ptači kwas is celebrated annually on January 25th in the Lusatia region of...
Jan Ernest Smoler and Jan Kilian were contemporaries, although not always friendly ones. As editor of a newspaper in Bautzen, Smoler published negative letters sent from the Serbin colony leading to years of tension between Smoler and Kilian. Thirteen years before the immigration to Texas, in 1841, Smoler and a...
Easter Water is an old folk custom with its roots in pre-Christian times when water was considered the symbol of life and fertility. The Easter custom developed into one designed for the young unmarried women of the community, who would gather together in the wee hours of Easter...
On the morning of December 16, 1854, the immigration authorities at Galveston went out to meet the Ben Nevis, an English sailing ship, which had arrived in the harbor. On board they examined the papers and the physical condition of the five hundred some Wends who had come...
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May 20, 2025
May 9, 2025
Sorbian Monuments – Now Available
May 8, 2025
Wendish Fest – September 28, 2025
May 4, 2025
April 27, 2025
Coffee Cake Baking Class on May 17
April 23, 2025
Museum Closed from April 18-21 for Easter
April 13, 2025
TWHS Scholarship Application is Open
April 10, 2025