Hill Country homes Hill Country homes The term, "Hill Country homes", refers to an architectural style of housing found in the part of central Texas, known as the Texas Hill Country. In the early history of the Republic of Texas, before Texas joined the United States, a land rush began in the middle of the 19th century. This land rush to central Texas included many immigrants from Germany. They created settlements with names like Fredricksburg, Bergheim, Boerne, Gruene, New Braunfels, and many others. These early German immigrants to Texas made their living farming and ranching. Homes were built using materials found right on
Western Europe Europe in China during the Ming dynasty. The Italian Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci was one of the first writers in China to use the Far West as an Asian counterpart to the European concept of the Far East. In Ricci's writings, Ricci referred to himself as "Matteo of the Far West". The term was still in use in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Christianity is still the largest religion in Western Europe, according to a 2018 study by the Pew Research Center, 71.0% of the Western European population identified themselves as Christians. The East–West Schism, which has lasted