Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Sort by:
10 Recommendations
{{numTotalPoiResults}} {{ (numTotalPoiResults===1)?'Recommendation':'Recommendations' }}
0 Recommendations
Loading...
-
1. Biblical House
This house is interesting for its Renaissance facade decorated with sandstone reliefs depicting biblical stories. The Catholic Church banned religious depictions on secular buildings, but by the time the house was rebuilt after a fire in 1526, the Reformation had Görlitz firmly in its grip.
Neissestr. 29 -
2. Dreifaltigkeitskirche
On the southeast side of the upper market lies this pleasant Romanesque church with a Gothic interior, built in 1245. The interior houses an impressive Gothic triptych altarpiece. The clock on the thin tower is set seven minutes fast in remembrance of a trick played by the city guards on the leaders of a rebellion. In 1527 the city's disenfranchised cloth makers secretly met to plan a rebellion against the city council and the powerful guilds. Their plans were uncovered, and by setting the clock ahead the guards fooled the rebels into thinking it was safe to sneak into the city. As a result they were caught and hanged.
Klosterplatz 21Sight Details
Rate Includes: €4 -
3. Görlitz Synagogue
Evidence of a wealthy Jewish community can be found in the large art nouveau Synagogue. With 650 seats the building, completed in 1911, would have been the largest synagogue in Saxony. During the Kristallnacht Nazis set the building on fire, but the building only suffered minor damage as the Fire Department ignored orders to let the building burn. The last service took place here in 1940. Almost none of Görlitz’s Jews survived the war and Soviet Military authorities placed the synagogue under the control of the community in Dresden. The city of Görlitz purchased the building in 1963 and it served a variety of functions until German unification. In 2008 the city and an associated foundation began the reconstruction of the building. Although there is no large community in Görlitz, the newly refurbished synagogue is again open to the public and held its first service in August 2021. The main building is an interesting public space that explores the history and cultural impact of Jews in Silesia. In December 2021, the remains of the Torah, thought destroyed by the Nazis, was returned to the synagogue after being hidden by a sympathetic priest.
Otto-Müller-Str. 3, Görlitz, Saxony, 02826, Germany03581-672--431Sight Details
Rate Includes: €5 -
4. Kaufhaus Görlitz
Built in 1912–13, Germany's only original art nouveau department store has a main hall with a colorful glass cupola and several stunning freestanding staircases. The store dominates the Marienplatz, a small square outside the city center that serves as Görlitz's transportation hub. It's next to the 15th-century Frauenkirche, the parish church for the nearby hospital and the poor condemned to live outside the city walls. In 2013 a private investor purchased the building with plans to renovate it and open a high-end department store. At this writing, the building is still being restored, but there is no concrete date to reopen it. It may be possible to look around the inside during the renovation.
An der Frauenkirche 5–7, Görlitz, Saxony, D–02826, Germany -
5. Kirche St. Peter und Paul
Perched high above the river is one of Saxony's largest late-Gothic churches, dating to 1423. The real draw is the church's famous one-of-a-kind organ, built in 1703 by Eugenio Casparini. The Sun Organ gets its name from the circularly arranged pipes and not from the golden sun at the center. Its full and deep sound, as well as its birdcalls, can be heard on Sunday and Wednesday afternoons.
Bei der Peterkirche 5- 03581 - 409–590Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
Recommended Fodor’s Video
-
6. Landskron Braumanufaktur
Germany's easternmost Brauhaus is one of the few breweries left that uses open fermentation and gives tours. Founded in 1869, Landskron isn't very old by German standards, but it's unique in that it hasn't been gobbled up by a huge brewing conglomerate. Görlitzer are understandably proud of their own Premium Pilsner, but the brewery also produces good dark, Silesian, and winter beers. Landskron Hefeweizen is one of the best in the country.
- 03581 - 465–121Sight Details
Rate Includes: Tours €8–€25, Visitor center closed Sun.--Fri. -
7. Obermarkt
The richly decorated Renaissance homes and warehouses on the Obermarkt are a vivid legacy of the city's wealthy past. During the late Middle Ages the most common merchandise here was cloth, which was bought and sold from covered wagons and on the ground floors of many buildings. Napoléon addressed his troops from the balcony of the house at No. 29.
Obermarkt -
8. Untermarkt
One of Europe's most impressive squares, this market is a testament to the prosperity brought by the cloth trade. It's built up in the middle, and the most important building is No. 14, which formerly housed the city scales. The duty of the city scale masters, whose busts adorn the Renaissance facade of the Gothic building, was to weigh every ounce of merchandise entering the city and to determine the taxes due. The square's most prominent building is the Rathaus. Its winding staircase is as peculiar as its statue of the goddess of justice, whose eyes—contrary to European tradition—are not covered. The corner house on the square, the Alte Ratsapotheke (Old Council Pharmacy), has two intricate sundials on the facade, painted in 1550.
Untermarkt -
9. Verrätergasse
On Verrätergasse, across the Obermarkt square from the church, is the Peter-Liebig-Haus, where the initials of the first four words of the rebels' meeting place, Der verräterischen Rotte Tor (the treacherous gang's gate), are inscribed above the door. The Obermarkt is dominated by the Reichenbacher Turm, a tower built in the 13th century, with additions in 1485 and 1782. Until 1904 the tower housed the city watchmen and their families. The apartments and armory are now a museum, but it's better known for the great views of the city from the tiny windows at the top. The massive Kaisertrutz (Emperor's Fortress) once protected the western city gates, and now houses late-Gothic and Renaissance art from the area around Görlitz, as well as some impressive historical models of the city. Both buildings are part of the Kulturhistorisches Museum.
- 03581 - 671–355Sight Details
Rate Includes: €3 Reichenbacher Turm, Closed Mon. -
10. Zgorzelec
In 1946 everything on the eastern side on the Neisse River was ceded to Poland and Görlitz lost its eastern suburb. A walk across the river is like a trip back in time. Zgorzelec certainly isn't as well off as Görlitz, but there are some nice patrician houses and wide parks whose decay resembles the state of Görlitz in the 1980s. For a stroll through, cross the Altstadtbrücke (Old Town Bridge) behind the Peterskirche, turn right, and walk approximately a kilometer (half mile), then cross back into Germany at the former official border crossing. Great Polish food is in plentiful supply at the Piwnica Staromiejska at Wrocławska 1, just across the bridge. Food, gasoline, alcohol, and cigarettes are about 50% cheaper and there are a lot of shops that cater to Germans on the other side of the river.
-
{{ (numCurrentPage-1)*numPageLimit+index+1 }}.
{{ item.neighborhood }} | {{ item.first_keyword }}{{ item.review }}
{{ item.address }}{{ item.phone[0] }}{{ item.details.title }} Details
{{ item.details.content.toString() }}View Tours and Activities -
Recommended Fodor’s Video
No sights Results
Please try a broader search, or expore these popular suggestions:
There are no results for {{ strDestName }} Sights in the searched map area with the above filters. Please try a different area on the map, or broaden your search with these popular suggestions:
