Page 206 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL FALL 2024 SPAIN

After all, Görlitz is praised as an urban
masterpiece. And rightly so: more than
4,000 architectural monuments await the
visitors. While other places struggle to imi-
tate authenticity with more or less success-
ful replicas, Görlitz gives an idea of what
the whole country once looked like.

Glitz and glamour

You can stroll from one style period to
another, to finely restored late Gothic, Re-
naissance and Baroque houses in the old
town and through spacious Art Nouveau
and Wilhelminian style districts that sur-
round the historic center. There is so much
history and grandeur that the leading Ger-
man newspaper “Die Welt” once called
Görlitz “The Paris on the Neisse River”.
Indeed, the small provincial town of
about 57,000 inhabitants does not need to
shy away from the comparison with the
capital of France: Richly decorated portals
and façades, beautiful inner courtyards
and arcades bear witness to the fact that
Görlitz was one of the richest cities in Ger-
many for most of its history. “In the Middle
Ages, it was located at the crossroads of
two trade routes, and relied on the pre-
cious dye woad, cloth production and
wagon building”, said guide Elke Schallwig.
Thanks to its wealth and power, Görlitz be-
came the urban center of Upper Lusatia,
located in the part of Silesia that remained
German after 1945.

Right: You’ll find a number of architectural
styles in old town Görlitz.
Left: Old town hall and guide Elke Schallwig

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