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is the county seat of Bandera County, Texas, United States. The population was 957 at the 2000 census. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Bandera calls itself the Cowboy Capital of the World. The Frontier Times Museum is located there across from the First Baptist Church. Bandera has a large presence in biker culture.
A visitor to Bandera can see a sign on Main Street, in front of the Fire Department building, which states that Bandera was founded by Roman Catholic immigrants from Poland. St. Stanislaus Catholic Church was built by those immigrants, and the church is one of the oldest in Texas. Many of the residents are descended from those original Polish immigrants.
There are many stories about where the name "Bandera" may have come from. One says that back in the 19th century, a flag was placed at the top of a path that came to be called "Bandera Pass" due to "bandera" being the Spanish word for "flag."
Bandera has a number of sites on the National Register of Historic Places, including the County Courthouse and Jail.