San Antonio is a city and the seat of Bexar County in south central Texas in the United States of America.

A cultural and commercial center, San Antonio is famous for its Spanish heritage and its unique mix of Mexican, Anglo, and German cultures.

In 1691, Spanish explorers named the San Antonio River for Saint Anthony of Padua because they first encountered it on the saint’s feast day. The city itself grew out of the Royal Presidio of San António de Béjar, a fortified settlement founded in 1718.

It was built to protect the Mission San António de Valero established at the same time. The mission soon became nicknamed The Alamo, and because of the role it played in the Texas Revolution (1835-1836) it has become San Antonio’s premier landmark and a shrine to Texas independence.