3500 Historic Buildings - no Tourists - Görlitz!
Saxony is not too high on the list of international visitors to Germany - most would rather focus on Bavaria, the Rhine region and Berlin. And the majority of visitors that DO venture as far as Saxony usually stay in the capital Dresden - and 90% during stopovers between Berlin and Prague. Yet Saxony is a spectacular destination in its own right - boasting a legacy of centuries of culture and the arts under the WETTIN dynasty, spectacular scenery along the Elbe River and in the mountains to its south, as well as beautiful cities untouched by war, neglected under communism and restored since the Fall of the Wall 20 years ago. Among these underrated yet beautiful cities, none stands out more than Görlitz - city of 60 000 on the NEISSE river, divided since 1945 into a German and Polish part and boasting 3500 historic monuments of all architectural styles. For that reason, Görlitz counts as a Treasure off the Beaten Track destination par excellence - there are few places in the world that can offer so many restored historic monuments in such a small space and with such few tourists around. Görlitz is thus an uplifting experience for anyone in search for peace, quiet and a fantastic place to discover.
Görlitz feels much bigger than its current population of 60 000, because it was built as a considerably larger town for up to 100 000 inhabitants during its peak a century ago. The so-called GRÜNDERZEIT, the period between 1871 and 1900 when France made huge reparation payments to Germany after loosing the Franco-Prussian war, greatly benefited the city and many gorgeous stately mansions were built during this period. Since then, however, population figures have been down, with Görlitz loosing inhabitants during communism due to its unfortunate location in the far eastern part of what used to be East Germany. Since the change of regime, young Görlitzers have equally been leaving in droves due to better work and income prospects further west. According to statistics, this population drain my continue with an expected low population of 48 000 by 2020. Yet tourism may turn the town around - and it truly is only in its infancy with great potentials for Görlitz in the near future on both sides of the Neisse River. The two sides have been reunited since the ALTSTADTBRÜCKE was inaugurated in 2004 - and with Poland joining SCHENGEN inside the European Union, no more customs controls exist either. It has truly again become the EUROPE CITY of Görlitz and Zgorcelec it was declared as in 1998.
The area of Upper Lusetia (Ober Lausitz) and Lower Silesia (Niederschlesien) boasts an interesting tricultural blend of German, Polish and SORB influences, the latter being a slavic minority of 60 000 still present in what nowadays would be the East German Federal States of Brandenburg and Saxony. Called the "city of towers" due to the many remaining city towers from the medieval fortification dismantled a century ago, Görlitz offers a rich blend of culture and architecture of the late gothic, renaissance, baroque and "Gründerzeit" periods. Starting at busy Demiani Square, we head to the central pedestrian square of downtown Görlitz, MARIENPLATZ, to admire the secession era department store of HERTIE, one of the first buildings of its kind in Germany. The square is dominated on the other side by the FAT TOWER (Dicker Turm), giving way to a green avenue with stately merchant homes, Elisabethstrasse. We pass the tower though on the left side to continue up Steinstrasse to reach the OBERMARKT (Upper Market) equally dominated by a tower, Reichenbacher Turm, on one side, and the HOLY TRINITY CHURCH on the other end, marking the gateway to the old historic center.
The church itself, a former monastery, boasts 2 beautiful altars from the renaissance and baroque period, and evokes the charms of 16th century Germany.
We then proceed into the old historic center of Görlitz with a spectacular blend of Renaissance and Baroque merchant homes, passing the quaint small alley "SCHWARZE GASSE" (Black Alley) on the right. The true highlight then awaits us at the end of Brüderstrasse on the so-called UNTERMARKT (Lower Market), where we find the spectacular Renaissance Town Hall of Görlitz and the equally stunning Renaissance Museum of Lower Silesia. On the Untermarkt itself, we find a plethora of richly ornate Renaissance homes with huge HALLS inside, the so-called HALL HOUSES - many of which can be visited. The square of Untermarkt alone is worthy of some time to pause, admire and enjoy the unique blend of architecture, ambience and local flair. Nearby on NEISSSTRASSE we find the unique BIBLICAL HOUSE of the Renaissance period, recently restored and among the most lavishly decorated buildings in the area. We then proceed north on Petersstrasse as far as the late gothic cathedral of Görlitz, Church of St. Peter and Paul, featuring a spectacular sun organ inside.
It would be possible to continue for hours and days to fully discover the 3500 historic monuments of Görlitz, including more city towers, the famous FLÜSTERBOGEN, whispering arch, as well as the Nikolai cemetery. We decide to walk over the recently reopened ALTSTADTBRÜCKE, however, to enjoy a nice relaxing evening meal on the Polish side, in Zgorcelec, with splendid views of the Old Town and the beautiful Neisse River.
Görlitz feels much bigger than its current population of 60 000, because it was built as a considerably larger town for up to 100 000 inhabitants during its peak a century ago. The so-called GRÜNDERZEIT, the period between 1871 and 1900 when France made huge reparation payments to Germany after loosing the Franco-Prussian war, greatly benefited the city and many gorgeous stately mansions were built during this period. Since then, however, population figures have been down, with Görlitz loosing inhabitants during communism due to its unfortunate location in the far eastern part of what used to be East Germany. Since the change of regime, young Görlitzers have equally been leaving in droves due to better work and income prospects further west. According to statistics, this population drain my continue with an expected low population of 48 000 by 2020. Yet tourism may turn the town around - and it truly is only in its infancy with great potentials for Görlitz in the near future on both sides of the Neisse River. The two sides have been reunited since the ALTSTADTBRÜCKE was inaugurated in 2004 - and with Poland joining SCHENGEN inside the European Union, no more customs controls exist either. It has truly again become the EUROPE CITY of Görlitz and Zgorcelec it was declared as in 1998.
The area of Upper Lusetia (Ober Lausitz) and Lower Silesia (Niederschlesien) boasts an interesting tricultural blend of German, Polish and SORB influences, the latter being a slavic minority of 60 000 still present in what nowadays would be the East German Federal States of Brandenburg and Saxony. Called the "city of towers" due to the many remaining city towers from the medieval fortification dismantled a century ago, Görlitz offers a rich blend of culture and architecture of the late gothic, renaissance, baroque and "Gründerzeit" periods. Starting at busy Demiani Square, we head to the central pedestrian square of downtown Görlitz, MARIENPLATZ, to admire the secession era department store of HERTIE, one of the first buildings of its kind in Germany. The square is dominated on the other side by the FAT TOWER (Dicker Turm), giving way to a green avenue with stately merchant homes, Elisabethstrasse. We pass the tower though on the left side to continue up Steinstrasse to reach the OBERMARKT (Upper Market) equally dominated by a tower, Reichenbacher Turm, on one side, and the HOLY TRINITY CHURCH on the other end, marking the gateway to the old historic center.
The church itself, a former monastery, boasts 2 beautiful altars from the renaissance and baroque period, and evokes the charms of 16th century Germany.
We then proceed into the old historic center of Görlitz with a spectacular blend of Renaissance and Baroque merchant homes, passing the quaint small alley "SCHWARZE GASSE" (Black Alley) on the right. The true highlight then awaits us at the end of Brüderstrasse on the so-called UNTERMARKT (Lower Market), where we find the spectacular Renaissance Town Hall of Görlitz and the equally stunning Renaissance Museum of Lower Silesia. On the Untermarkt itself, we find a plethora of richly ornate Renaissance homes with huge HALLS inside, the so-called HALL HOUSES - many of which can be visited. The square of Untermarkt alone is worthy of some time to pause, admire and enjoy the unique blend of architecture, ambience and local flair. Nearby on NEISSSTRASSE we find the unique BIBLICAL HOUSE of the Renaissance period, recently restored and among the most lavishly decorated buildings in the area. We then proceed north on Petersstrasse as far as the late gothic cathedral of Görlitz, Church of St. Peter and Paul, featuring a spectacular sun organ inside.
It would be possible to continue for hours and days to fully discover the 3500 historic monuments of Görlitz, including more city towers, the famous FLÜSTERBOGEN, whispering arch, as well as the Nikolai cemetery. We decide to walk over the recently reopened ALTSTADTBRÜCKE, however, to enjoy a nice relaxing evening meal on the Polish side, in Zgorcelec, with splendid views of the Old Town and the beautiful Neisse River.
Comments
Post a Comment