In 1852 the German Emigration Company  deeded a corner town lot that ran along Gartenstrasse, now South Lincoln Street, and San Antonio Street to August Rudolph and his wife Anna. The Rudolph’s kept the lot until 1856 when Adolph and Elise Lungkwitz bought it for $110 to build their first home. Lungkwitz arrived in Fredericksburg from Germany in 1852 with a family of artists that included his brother, Karl Hermann Lungkwitz, who became famous for his Texas landscape paintings and his wife’s brother, Frederick Richard Petri, a renowned portrait artist. Work from both artists can be seen in various museums of art throughout Texas, and are considered important contributors to Texas art history. Lungkwitz, a skilled tinsmith, silversmith and goldsmith also worked with E. Krauskoff to invent machinery used in the manufacturing of gun caps used during the Civil War.

107 S. Lincoln St. Fredericksburg, TX. 78624 – 4142, US info@bella-notte.net

In 1894 Lungkwitz sold the lot to William and Olga Rausch for $20 down and a note for $860. The Rausch’s tore down the old Lungkwitz home and built the present L-shaped limestone house. William, a stonemason by trade did much of the work himself, completing the home in 1906. The home uniquely blends period elements of Victorian and German Vernacular architecture, featuring a central gable with jig-cut decorative trim and hand-hewn limestone walls. Come and experience this historic and beautiful home in the heart of the Texas Hill Country!