Gorlitz

Görlitz is one of Germany's largest cities to have escaped World War II largely undamaged, leaving a medieval, Baroque and Renaissance old town with several thousand listed buildings — a rarity that has made it a favourite filming location for movies set in pre-1945 Germany, earning it the nickname "Görliwood." The city straddles the Neisse river on the Polish border; its eastern half became the separate Polish town of Zgorzelec after 1945.

By plane

The closest airport is in Dresden ( DRS   IATA ) (25 minutes from Dresden main station by S-Bahn); however, the connections are limited. Other international airports are in Leipzig / Halle ( LEJ   IATA )(near the town of Schkeuditz, some 20 minutes by S-Bahn from Leipzig main station), Berlin and Wrocław (Poland). It takes 3-4 hours (with at least one change) to get from Berlin to Görlitz and 2-3 hours (direct trains available) to get from Wrocław to Görlitz.

By train

The city of Dresden is a hub in train transport in eastern Saxony. Regional trains run frequently and take around one hour. The Sachsen Ticket costs around €35 (plus €8 per additional person in your group) and is valid on all regional trains and trams in Görlitz and Leipzig, but not Dresden.

You can get to Görlitz using regional trains from Cottbus , which has a connection to Berlin. There are several connections daily from Görlitz and more frequent connections from the Polish twin city Zgorzelec to Wrocław . Polish trains also now stop at Görlitz Hauptbahnhof. There is a regional line connecting Görlitz and Zittau at the Czech-Polish-German border, which sometimes connects onward toward Liberec in Czechia.

The old town is walkable; local buses connect it to outlying districts.

Görlitz, being one of the larger cities in Germany not damaged during the war, has a medieval, baroque and renaissance old town, surrounded by a belt of 19th-century tenements, villas and industrial areas, which stretches across the Neiße to what was East Görlitz, now Zgorzelec in Poland. Only the far outskirts have newer buildings. Görlitz has served as a backdrop for several movies (set in pre-1945 Germany) since 1990 where its historic buildings stand in for other (now destroyed and rebuilt) German cities. The film boom has earned the town the nickname of "Görliwood" in the press. If you are lucky you might happen upon a film being shot.

After German unification, most of the buildings were renovated. This makes Görlitz a unique heritage city with several thousands of listed buildings. Stroll around the town and enjoy the atmosphere.

St. Peter and Paul Church

( Pfarrkirche St. Peter und Paul ).

A spectacular Gothic church from the end of 15th century.  

Schönhof .

One example of this rich architectural heritage, the Schönhof is one of the oldest civic renaissance buildings in Germany. It now houses a Museum of Silesian History.   ( updated Feb 2020 )

Silesian Museum ,

Brüderstraße 8 ,

☏

+49 3581 8791-0 .

Tu–Th 10:00-17:00, F–Su 10:00-18:00 .

a museum dedicated to the history of Silesia.

permanent exhibition €7, reduced €5, special exhibition €3, reduced €2.50.,Free entry for visitors up to 16 years of age and on the first Sunday of the month .   ( updated Nov 2021 )

Walk along the Neisse (pol. Nysa) river bank and enjoy the view of the older buildings and the abundant nature.

Tour the cathedral and the main street in the Old Town .

Take a stroll across the Neisse River into Poland using the pedestrian footbridge and get a different perspective of the old town from a distance.

Walk up the Landeskrone Mountain . Landeskrone is roughly 200 m above city level, and the walk up is about one hour from the tram station in Biesnitz (tram-line #2 from city centre). Nice weather provided it makes for a good afternoon stroll.

Visit Lake Berzdorf on the southern limits of town. This lake is the result of the filling of an open-pit coal mine that began in 2002 after the mine closed in the early 1990s.

There are some very nice restaurants in the Old Town. Compared to bigger cities like Dresden or Berlin, eating out in Görlitz is rather cheap. The cuisine served, is mostly the local Saxonian or Silesian cuisine, which traditionally involves meat, gravy and potatoes. Try a Silesian dish called 'Silesian Kingdom of Heaven' ('Schlesisches Himmelreich'), a dish of pork cooked in plum gravy.

Some nice restaurants in the Old Town:

Vierradenmühle ,

Hotherstraße 20 ,

☏

+49 3581 406661 .

 

Zur Goldenen Sonne ,

Demianiplatz 54 .  

Zum Nachtschmied ,

Obermarkt 18 ,

☏

+49 3581 411657 .

 

Zum Flyns ,

Langenstraße 1 ,

☏

+49 3581 400697 .

Beer

Germany is known for its long tradition of brewing beer, and Görlitz and eastern Saxony is no exception. There is a brewery in Görlitz, called the Landskron Brauerei (ultimately owned by Carlsberg). Eibau is another local brewery, about 20   km away.

The main product of the Landskron Brewery is a pilsner. Pilsner can be compared to what is known as lager outside of Germany, however, this type is stronger and has a more distinctive hop taste.

The brewery also produces seasonal beers, for example "Maibock", a beer that is only sold in spring and is stronger than normal pilsners.

Other pilsners well known in the area are Radeberger or Freiberger, which are from breweries close to Dresden.

The Eibau brewery some 20   km from Görlitz is best known for its dark beer. Dark beers are different from pilsners: they use roasted malt which gives the beer a deep, dark colour and a distinctive taste.

Another dark beer well known in the area is from the Köstritzer brewery, which is located in Thuringia, some 400   km west of Görlitz.

Budget

Backpackers hostel Eol777 Görlitz ,

Bahnhofstr 1a

( 5 min from the main train station and 5 min to the city centre and altstadt ),

☏

+49 15257196915 ,

[email protected] .

Check-in: 14:00 , check-out: No checkout time .

Only backpacker hostel in town: cheap, cozy, clean and friendly.

€13 .   ( updated Mar 2015 )

Mid-range

Dreibeiniger Hund ,

Büttnerstr. 13, 02826 ,

☏

+49 3581 423980 ,

fax : +49 3581-423979 ,

[email protected] .  

Splurge

Parkhotel Görlitz Superior ,

Uferstr. 17f ,

☏

+49 3581-6620 ,

fax : +49 3581-662662 ,

[email protected] .

 

Romantik Hotel Tuchmacher ,

Peterstr. 8, 02826 ,

☏

+49 3581 47310 ,

fax : +49 3581-4831111 ,

[email protected] .

Souvenirs from various Silesian themed souvenir shops in the old town. You will frequently find porcelain with a distinctive pattern. This porcelain is known as "Bunzlauer Keramik" (ceramika bolesławiecka), named after the German name of the city Bolesławiec in Poland.

Antiquarian booksellers in the Old Town always have nice bargains. There are few foreign-language books, though.

Bring a bottle of the local beer. It is called Landskron, after the mountain close by. It is (by virtue of Görlitz being Germany's easternmost town) Germany's easternmost brewery.

• Berlin — Germany's capital city, reachable by regional train
• Nearby towns in Sachsen — explore the surrounding region