Abandoned Towns
The stone front and tall spire of St. Mary's Church in Praha, at the end of a lamp-lined walk

Farm and ranch town

Praha

A Czech settlement named for Prague that lost its trade to a railroad town a mile away. Twenty-five people lived here in 2000, around one of the most celebrated painted churches in Texas.

29°40′06″N 97°04′02″W · ≈380 ft

Photo: Kyle G. Sweeney, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Church open for visits

The Schulenburg Chamber says visitors can tour the painted churches Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and that Praha closes at 3 p.m. on Saturdays. No tours on Sundays. Weddings, funerals or special Masses sometimes close a church, so the chamber suggests calling 979-743-4514 before you go. St. Mary's is an active parish, so be quiet inside.

Overview

Prague on FM 1295

St. Mary's Church of the Assumption, 2008
St. Mary's Church of the Assumption, 2008 · Photo: Larry D. Moore, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Praha is three miles east of Flatonia in southern Fayette County. Its first names were Mulberry and Hottentot. In the 1850s Bohemian immigrants, Mathias Novak first among them, settled here, and in 1858 they renamed the place Praha, the Czech name for Prague. By the 1880s it had three stores, a restaurant, a school and a church that served as mother parish for the area.

The railroad decided its future. In 1873 the line came through a mile to the north, and the new town of Flatonia grew up beside the tracks and took the trade. Praha's post office closed in 1906, its population never rose above 100 in the 20th century, and both of its schools closed in 1973. The population was 25 in 1968 and still 25 in 2000.

The church is the reason to come. St. Mary's Church of the Assumption, built in 1895, looks plain from outside. Inside, Gottfried Flury painted the walls and ceiling with stencils and freehand work that imitate stone vaults and Gothic tracery. It is perhaps the best known of the Texas painted churches.

Timeline

From Mulberry to Praha

Praha on the 1901 Flatonia sheet, with Mulberry Creek beside it and the railroad and Flatonia to the northwest
Praha on the 1901 Flatonia sheet, with Mulberry Creek beside it and the railroad and Flatonia to the northwest · Map: U.S. Geological Survey, USGS catalog, Public domain
  1. Bohemian immigrant Mathias Novak settles at the place then called Mulberry, or Hottentot. Early Masses are said in his house.
  2. The community first celebrates the Feast of the Assumption on August 15, a custom kept every year since.
  3. The Bohemian settlers rename the town Praha, for Prague.
  4. Father Joseph Bithowski builds a small frame church. The first Mass is said at midnight on Christmas.
  5. A public school opens.
  6. The railroad is built a mile north. Flatonia, founded on the tracks, starts drawing business away.
  7. Praha has a post office.
  8. St. Mary's Church of the Assumption, designed by O. Kramer, is built. Gottfried Flury paints its interior.
  9. A Czech Catholic school opens.
  10. The population is down to 25.
  11. Both the parochial and public schools close.
  12. St. Mary's is added to the National Register of Historic Places.

What's left

St. Mary's painted church

The south front of St. Mary's
The south front of St. Mary's · Photo: Kyle G. Sweeney, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

St. Mary's is a Gothic Revival church designed by O. Kramer. Its interior is the work of Gottfried Flury, a Swiss-born painter from Moulton. It went on the National Register in 1983. The parish still holds Mass here, and every August 15 the Feast of the Assumption draws more than 5,000 people for Mass, Czech food and Texas Czech bands. The town also holds a Veterans Day commemoration each year.

  • St. Mary's Church of the Assumption (1895)
  • Church cemetery
  • Welcome sign in Czech and English
USGS topographic map of Praha on FM 1295
USGS The National Map, topo. Praha lies south of US 90 on FM 1295.
Aerial view of the church, cemetery and parish grounds at Praha
Aerial imagery, same area. The church and cemetery sit among fields.

Historic maps

Praha on USGS maps, 1901–1985

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

USGS topographic map around Praha, 1901
Flatonia sheet, 1901, 1:125,000 · U.S. Geological Survey, public domain · catalog record

Day trip

Plan a day trip to Praha from Flatonia

Take it with you

Day trip itinerary

The essentials, the sample day with boxes to tick, what to photograph and the coordinates, on two printable pages. Handy where there's no signal.

Download the PDF (524 KB)

Praha is minutes from Flatonia and is one of the painted churches around Schulenburg. Visit on your own any weekday, or book a guided tour with the Schulenburg Chamber to see several churches in a day.

A sample day

  1. Leave Flatonia on US 90 east, about seven minutes.
  2. Inside St. Mary's. Take time with the painted ceiling, then walk the cemetery.
  3. Drive on to the other painted churches around Schulenburg, or join a chamber tour.
  4. Lunch in Schulenburg or Flatonia.

From Houston, allow about two hours each way. Leave by 7:30 a.m. to arrive mid-morning.

What to photograph and film

  • The painted ceiling. Flury's vaults are the shot. A wide lens from the back of the nave takes in the whole ceiling.
  • The front walk. The lamp-lined walk leads to the stone front and spire. The front faces south, so it is lit for much of the day.
  • The welcome sign. The sign greets visitors partly in Czech.
  • During services. Don't photograph during Mass.

Map & directions

Getting there

Flatonia is seven minutes away on US 90 and FM 1295. From Houston, it is about two hours west on I-10, then FM 2238 and US 90. Paved all the way.

USGS topographic map between Flatonia and Praha with the route drawn on it

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

From downtown Flatonia3.7 miabout 7 min
  1. From downtown Flatonia, follow West Main Street (US 90/TX 95) east out of town.2.8 mi
  2. Turn right on FM 1295 to the church.0.8 mi
Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Road and safety notes

  • Paved all the way.
  • On August 15 the feast draws thousands of people. Expect crowds and full parking.
  • No tours on Sundays, when the church holds services.

Photos

Praha in photos

Visitor reports

Been to Praha?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

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Nearby

Other sites near Praha

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our Texas index.

Sources

Sources and credits

  1. Handbook of Texas Online, "Praha, TX" (Ed Janecka), accessed October 19, 2026: names, settlers, 1858 renaming, churches, schools, post office, railroad, population, feast day, NRHP listing.
  2. Wikipedia, "St. Mary's Church of the Assumption (Praha, Texas)", retrieved October 2026: 1895 date, architect, Flury and his technique, NRHP date.
  3. Schulenburg Chamber of Commerce, "Painted Churches", as of October 2026: visiting days and hours, Saturday close, self-guided limit, tour prices and booking.
  4. Austin PBS, "The Painted Churches of Texas: Praha": background on the church's painters.
  5. Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026.

Photo and map credits