Tom`s travels: Zittau, Ostriz & Görlitz (09/10/2021)

On a nice sunny October weekend, we decided to do a day trip southeast of Berlin and visit a few towns in eastern Saxony. After taking a train from our station Alexanderplatz, we switched once in Cottbus, and in about 3h 30 reached the first town of the trip, Zittau. After getting off the train and out of the train station we directed ourselves towards the city center on foot, and shortly after reached the church of St John. Originally dating to the 13th century it was destroyed in 1757 by Austrian soldiers during the Seven Years' War and later rebuilt between 1766 and 1837 in its current neoclassical style. Nearby we then walked through the pretty Marktplatz, with at its western end the nice 16th century Fountain of Mars and at its eastern end the town hall built during the mid-19th century in the style of an Italian palace. From the main square, we then headed south, out of the city, and in about 45 minutes of walking on a pleasant trail along the Lusatian Neisse river shaded by tall trees, we reached our intended destination. We had reached the Tripoint, a tri-border area shared between Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. It was quite interesting to be there because, as I could recall, I don't think I ever was on a multi-border spot. The sun was out and shining which made the walk back even more pleasant. As we reached Zittau once again, we visited the rest of the city. We walked through a nice square, known as the Neustadt, with the 17th-century Fountain of the Samaritan Woman at its southern end, followed by the so-called Salzhouse building from 1511 at its center, and the 18th-century Hercules fountain at its northern end. All around the square were also some nice and elegant Renaissance and Baroque palaces and houses. Continuing on we then passed by the Franciscan Monastery church, which featured a mainly gothic style from the outside but we couldn't see the inside it as it's now part of the city museum which we decided not to visit. On through the city, we passed once again by the nice main square and then reached a small neighborhood known as the Kunsterviertel which featured communist-style buildings with colorful facades and random objects sticking out of the walls. After that, we headed to the train station where we took the next ride to the nearby town of Ostritz. Once there we got off the train station which was actually in Poland and called Krzewina Zgorzelecka, however serving smaller polish villages in the area and the nearby town of Ostritz in Germany. We walked on the bridge crossing over the Lusatian Neisse and passed through the nice small peaceful town. We walked through the main square and then past the main parish church which had a wedding going on. After a bit more walking we then reached the monument we had come here for, the St Marienthal Abbey. Founded during the 13th century the abbey, after prospering for a while, was destroyed during the Hussite Wars in 1427 and rebuilt in the same century. After suffering several fires it was then later rebuilt in 1685 in its current Baroque style. The abbey is also the oldest nunnery of the Cistercian Order in Germany to have maintained an unbroken occupation since its foundation. Once we reached the monastery complex we entered through the main gate and walked through the large central courtyard, more like a park due to its size, admiring the beautiful baroque facade of the main building. It featured the typical onion-shaped cupolas and nice and elegant contrast between the brown tiled roof, and the white, yellow, and pink pastel-colored walls. We then headed on to visit the main church which featured though a rather unassuming interior. In fact, the interior had to be rebuilt in a neogothic style at the end of the 19th century after the baroque one was destroyed by a flood of the Neisse river. The river actually flooded again in 2010 damaging the monastery once more. After visiting the church we then had a walk around the complex and also entered the small shop where the nuns sold local products such as beer, soaps, herbal teas and such, and even wine. The wine is actually produced from vines found around the monastery which are also apparently the easternmost in Germany. Once we were done with the round of the complex we then headed back to Ostritz and reaching the Polish side once again took the next train to the city of Görlitz. Once there we got off the train and out of the station and headed towards the city center on foot. We reached the nice Postplatz, an elegant square surrounded by Gründerzeit buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Right nearby we then entered the Frauenkirche, or church of Our Lady, rebuilt at the end of the 15th century in a Gothic style after it was destroyed during the Hussite Wars. Its interior was nice and simple yet remade in a Neogothic style in 1870. Right next to the church was the Kaufhaus, a large department store building that was currently abandoned and closed but used back in the day as the set for the movie The Grand Budapest Hotel. In fact, Görlitz is known for being a popular spot for filming locations of many movies in the past, so much so that it has been funnily dubbed the Hollywood of Germany or better Görliwood. Not too far away from there, I passed by the nice Thick Tower, a 46m high tower from 1250, named so because of its impressive size and thickness, reaching 5.34m in diameter, and one of only three surviving towers in the city. Continuing onwards we then passed the Kaisertrutz Bastion, a 19th-century fortification rebuilt over a previous medical one which was once part of 32 other bastions defending the city. Right next to it we then passed by another of those three towers which still survive in the city, the Reichenbach Tower. Dating to the 13th century it reaches a height of 51m making it the tallest among the three. From the tower we then walked through the large Obermarkt, or Upper Market square, surrounded by nice old buildings but unfortunately still used as a large parking spot thus filled with cars. At the eastern end of the square, we then entered the church of the Holy Trinity, built during the 13th century in a nice Gothic style and featuring choir stalls from 1484 and a baroque high altar. Moving on, we passed by the 16th-century fountain, the Georgsbrunnen, and following the main street lined by beautiful historic palaces and houses reached the city's main square, the Untermarkt. Here were some of the town's most important buildings, such as the beautiful Schönhof palace from 1526, the oldest Renaissance building in town, and the town hall, originally built during the 14th century but raised and refurbished during the 16th century when it received its nice baroque clock tower. We wandered around the square for a little while admiring the beautiful array of arcaded burger houses in the renaissance, baroque, and neoclassical styles, and passing by the 18th-century Neptune Fountain in front of the town hall. Moving on we walked through some side streets until we came across the Nikolai Tower, the third of the three remaining towers, dating to the 13th century and measuring 46m in height. Right nearby we then reached the church of St Peter and Paul, which dominates the old town with its grand size and copper-covered high roof and the pair of towers. Its structure dates to the 15th century, when it was rebuilt over a previous church in the Gothic style, then received in twin 84m high twin towers at the end of the 19th century in a neogothic style. Its interior was quite nice, large, and full of light, with a magnificent organ, built in 1997 but with the original late 17th-century facade, and known as the Sun Organ due to the representation of about 17 suns on the prospect. After seeing the interior of the church we then headed downhill to reach the waterfront of the Lusatian Neisse river which here was much wider than how we had seen it previously in the other towns. A rather new bridge, due to it being destroyed in WWII, crossed over the river and connected the city of Görlitz to its Polish counterpart, Zgorzelec. Once, until 1945, it constituted the eastern part of Görlitz and even featured some old buildings, though, after the end of the war and the moving of the borders, the city came into Polish hands and had unfortunately lost all its historical heritage during the war. The view of Görlitz from the other side of the river though was really nice, with the old buildings all close together and the large figure of the church of St Peter and Paul on the hilltop dominating the surroundings. Before heading back to the station we decided to stop at a Biedronka supermarket to buy some polish food to take with us. After that, we walked back to Germany and after heading through the town once more to admire the nice architecture reached the train station from where we took the next train back to Berlin.