6 Kansas Towns That Rival Europe's Best
From the main highways, Kansas could not appear more different than Europe. But behind its corn fields and funnel clouds are small towns that evoke the elegance and intrigue of overseas oases. Settlers from the Netherlands, Czechia, Germany, Russia, Italy, France, England, Sweden, Spain, and many other countries made their marks in middle-of-nowhere Kansas, which tourists can discover with delight. From a Dutch-style windmill to a giant Czech egg to a Conquistador's castle, behold Kansas' European attractions and the communities that rival Europe's best.
Wamego
When entering Wamego, home of the OZ Museum, Oz Winery, Yellow Brick Road, and Totos Around Town, you might be tempted to say, "I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." But not for the reasons listed. Besides Oz-some attractions, Wamego boasts a Dutch-style park with a breathtaking windmill and, during April, more colorful tulips than you can count. This tiny nook of the Netherlands, spanning over 12 acres on the east side of town, is known simply as the Wamego City Park. Its windmill dates to 1879, when Dutch immigrant John Schonoff (or Schonhoff) built an ode to the Old Country on his Wamego-adjacent farm.
After sitting idle for decades, the mill was disassembled stone-by-stone, transported on 35 horse-drawn wagons, and reassembled stone-by-stone on a 25-foot hill in the City Park. Over a century later, the Schonhoff Dutch Mill gets ringed with thousands of tulips and visitors each spring for the Wamego Tulip Festival. 2025's edition is set to run from Saturday, April 12, to Sunday, April 13.
Wilson
In the 1870s, a railway in central Kansas attracted numerous workers. Many of them were Czech and settled in a place that would be incorporated as the city of Wilson. Thanks to these enterprising Czechs, Wilson became a bustling railroad hub served by the Midland Railroad Hotel, a stately edifice that still stands. Moreover, it was designated the "Czech Capital of Kansas" and commemorated with the "World's Largest Czech Egg," a 20-foot decorative display located near the railroad. Visit in July to see the hotel, egg, and a multiday cultural celebration called the After Harvest Czech Festival.
After getting a glimpse of Czechia in Wilson, get a taste of Lucas. Located about 20 minutes north, Lucas boasts Brant's Market, a century-old meat market using century-old Czech recipes. It was voted one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas Commerce.
Hays
What Czechia is to Wilson, Germany is to Hays. Around the same time that Czechs were settling in central Kansas, ethnic Germans, specifically those from Russia's Volga River region, were settling roughly 45 miles west of Wilson in a place called Hays City. "City" was dropped, but the Germans stayed, creating a Little Volga on the Prairie. Even today, a large percentage of Hays' residents claim German heritage. You can learn more about this history at the Ellis County Historical Society Museum, which features a life-sized replica Volga German Haus of the kind the first Germans built out of limestone.
You can also learn about natural history at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History, which was named for German-American surgeon-scientist George Miller Sternberg. Learning is one thing, however. Celebrating is another. And what is a better celebration for a Germanic town than Oktoberfest? Hays' Oktoberfest, like virtually all others, happens in October and involves lots of beer, food, and music.
Pittsburg
"Little Balkans," the nickname once given to Pittsburg and much of southeast Kansas, was initially a pejorative. Productive mines had brought workers from all over Europe—namely Russia, Germany, Italy, and France—many of whom struck and clashed during labor disputes. Americans were quick to compare the multinational conflict in their backyard to the kind that was happening in the Balkans.
Fast forward many decades to 1985, when Pittsburg retooled an old slur into a new festival called Little Balkans Days. Soon to have its 40th anniversary, Little Balkans Days runs on Labor Day Weekend and features cultural food, crafts, and demonstrations. While attending the fest, check out Pittsburg's other Europe-inspired attractions like Europe Park and the Crawford County Historical Museum, the latter of which displays a Marion Steamshovel that is linked to 19th-century English miner William Wilkinson.
Lindsborg
Yet another "Little X" on the Prairie, Lindsborg, is called "Little Sweden USA," hosting the biennial Svensk Hyllningsfest. Swedish-American residents transformed this one-horse Kansas town into an Old Country stable full of Dala horses. They are not real horses, but horses carved out of wood, elaborately painted, and placed around town as a "wild herd" that was named one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas Customs.
Other official Lindsborg wonders are Hemslojd, Inc., "the only shop in the US that handcrafts Dala horse-shaped signs and other traditional Swedish crafts"; the Lindsborg Old Mill and Swedish Heritage Museum, which is a museum, shop, and festival site inside a historic mill; and the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery, a large exhibit of works by the titular Swedish painter. Believe it or not, Little Sweden also boasts a non-Swedish European wonder. On a bluff northwest of town stands the Coronado Heights Castle, a 1936-built Spanish-style palace marking the spot where Conquistadors supposedly stomped in the 16th century.
Leavenworth
As Kansas' oldest incorporated city, Leavenworth retains many structures built by—or in the style of—19th-century Europeans. One of the grandest is the Carroll Mansion, a Victorian building constructed in 1867 and now used as the headquarters of the Leavenworth County Historical Society. Another ravishing relic is the Chapel of the Veterans, which was built in 1893 to resemble a European cathedral and was a finalist for the 8 Wonders of Kansas Architecture Contest.
Last but not least is the Temple B’nai Jeshurun, which began serving European Jewish immigrants in 1866 and, despite being rebuilt and later converted into apartments, is considered Kansas' oldest Jewish place of worship. If you take a Leavenworth Euro tour in December, cap it off with a glass of German glühwein at the Leavenworth Christmas Market.
There is no need to leave America to get the tastes and touches of Europe. You can find fabulous European flair in perhaps the most unEuropelike state. Off Kansas' flat, beaten paths are the tulip-tinged town of Wamego, the egg-cellent Czech enclave of Wilson, the Volga German village of Hays, the beautiful Balkans-inspired Pittsburg, the Swedish-Spanish settlement of Lindsborg, and the Victorian hub of Leavenworth. Which will you sample first?
