Austin is the capital and one of the largest cities in the state of Texas. The city’s history began in the 1830s, when settlers began to settle along the Colorado River in present-day Austin. Texas became a republic in 1836 after a war of independence against Mexico, and three years later the Texan Congress wanted to find a new location for the state capital.

The site was found and called Waterloo, before being named after the Republic’s first Secretary of State, Stephen F. Austin. Edwin Waller was assigned to lay out a city plan, and he made a right-angled street pattern with Congress Avenue and the state Capitol as the central elements.

In 1841, Texas’ capital was moved again, before Austin again became the seat of government in 1845, and thereafter Austin grew rapidly as an administrative and educational center. In 1871, the Houston and Texas Central Railway opened, making Houston an important cattle and cotton trading town. In 1928, a new and expanded city plan was drawn up for Austin, which since then experienced high population growth.

Today you can take some lovely walks along the Colorado River and in downtown Austin, which still follows Edwin Waller’s urban development plan. Centrally on the riverbank is the city’s modern city hall, and south of the city hall you can walk along Austin’s many trails along and across the Colorado River. You can, for example, cross the river and go to Doug Sahm Hill, from where there is a fantastic view to all the skyscrapers in downtown.

This is also where you find the Long Center for the Performing Arts, which opened in 2008 as one of Austin’s major cultural venues. The Long Center is home to a variety of performances and the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Austin Lyric Opera and Ballet Austin. From the area in front of the Long Center, you can board a river cruise, which offers great views of downtown Houston and the many bridges spanning the river.

Heading north through downtown, you come to Austin’s business district and to other of the city’s well-known cultural institutions. You can walk along the main street, Congress Avenue, to see a mix og old ang new architecture. The Paramount Theatre is a great example, it opened in 1915 and has been the stage for vaudeville, theater and movies. It was here that the 1966 film Batman premiered. The neighboring building State Theater opened in 1935 in a different architecture, and opposite the theaters is The Contemporary, the city’s leading museum for contemporary art.

If you continue north, you arrive at Texas’ impressive government building, the Texas Capitol, which was built in 1882-1888. The Capitol is 92 meters high, and in the green area around the building you can see several memorials of various events. Southwest of the Texas Capitol is the Governor’s Mansion, which was built in 1854, and it has been the state’s governor’s residence since 1856.

The Bullock Texas State History Museum is an interesting museum in the northern part of the city, where the Texas story is told. You can see archaeological finds and learn more about culture, natural history, technology and other things that have shaped the state’s history and development. North of the museum is the large Austin campus of University of Texas. In the middle of the area stands the main building called The Tower, and with its 94 meters in height and a characteristic architecture, it is one of the city’s landmarks. You can visit the top of the tower, from where there is a beautiful view of the city.

To the east of the university campus, you can visit the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, which is one of the USA’s presidential libraries and museums, which depict a presidential period. Lyndon B. Johnson was president 1963-1969, and the library opened in 1971. One of the highlights is a replica of the Oval Office from the White House in Washington as it looked during Johnson’s presidency.