CITY OF GÖRLITZ
With over 4000 protected historical monuments the city is in possession of a self contained architectural history. With this the city of Görlitz - Zgorzelec owns a unique municipal historic monument area and is one of the pearls of architecture in central Europe.
Due to the complexly of history and architecture of this city the main goal is to use this unique opportunity to create "History to touch for our Great-grandchildren".
ON THE PATH OF STONES THRU THE CITY
Here in Görlitz stands the biggest five nave hall church of Saxon. Just a thousand steps away you can find the most original holy grave of the world, build in the Moorish-Gothic style.
The facility is imbedded in the oldest culture park of Germany (1504) with a Mount of Olives garden and the Kydron valley.
According to the architectural history, the oldest civil town residence in the German spoken area "der Schöpfhof", stands in the old part of town.
An equally place of interest is the most valuable house, from the same style Epoch, which façade can truly be characterised as "street altar ".
Also the famous "Görlitzer Hallenhäuser" form a unique document of the bourgeois residence culture, with component parts from the late gothic and the renaissance, in Europe.
Wonderful baroque houses, newly restored, with bright symmetric facades, invite you to look and linger.
Prof. Gottfried Kiesow, chairman of the German foundation of protection of historical monuments, adored the city on the Neiße 1990, after his first visit. "Görlitz is the most beautiful city of Germany and every citizen of the Federal Republic of Germany should see and experience it at least once".
One reason the city is so beautiful is because a complex of architectural history is found in a relative small area. Starting from the Romanesque of the middle-age to the art décor of the present all building constructions are found.
A LOOK THRU THE MIDDLE-AGED CITY WALL
When the visitor leaves the old part of town, another style epoch will spread out in front of one. Whole streets, also already restored, are characterised by architectures of the founder era and art nouveau. These two style directions build a architectural ensemble, which in this capacity and design is not found anywhere else in Germany.
The founder era architecture is underlined thru its creative diversity on the facades. When taking a closer look the visitor will discover Romanesque, gothic and baroque elements.
After evaluation of the streets one can rightly say one house is more beautiful than the other.
The art nouveau is especially underlined at most beautiful department store in Germany. The shopping passage "Straßburg" as well as in the entrée hall of the main train station.
THE TREASURE OF GÖRLITZ - THE LIBRARIES
As especially valuable and for a lot of visitors places of interest are the libraries which are open to the public. Over 400 000 volumes are at ones disposal in five public libraries.
Everything worth knowing for example for Schlesien, Oberlausitz and parts of Bömen are documented and saved at the scientific libraries.
Further facilities next to the city library are the reference room in the technical college as well as in the European library at the three country corner.
THE EUROPEAN CITY GÖRLITZ-ZGORZELEC
The on the 5th of May 1998 proclaimed European city Görlitz-Zgorzelec are composed of two nations but from one idea. To make the unity of Europe come true. The German part of town with about 58 000 citizens and the Polish part of town Zgorzelec with its 38 000 citizens lye exactly on the 15th meridian, the name origin of the middle European time zone (MEZ).
This city is not only the gate and therewith the starting point for a trip to Schlesien, it also conceals a lot of distinctiveness', partly even unique within its walls. Next to the interesting research and educational facilities which experienced an enormous upswing lately, like natural science museum, the Oberlausitztsche cooperation of science, the Schlesische national museum or the municipal collection of history and culture, the architecture of this city will make ones heart skip a beat.
OVER THE BRIDGE OF THE NEISSE TO ZGORZELEC
A look across the Neisse gives evidence of the variety of the European unity progress. Here impulses to go new ways for the unity of Europe are developed together. The European city Görlitz - Zgorzelec arises.
Visitors can cross the Neisse at the 2004 newly rebuild bridge of the old part of town at its historical place in order visit the, still in rebuilding phase, Postplatz with it's POSTMEILENSÄULE as well as the newly restored row of houses which are adapted to the old part of town of Görlitz. In this row of houses you will also find the residential - and labour house of the theosophist JAKOB BÖHME (1575-1624). Furthermore you can explore a few other objects within the municipal area.
There is the RUHMESHALLE (Dom Cultury) consecrated 1902, the BONIFAZIUS-KIRCHE, in which the priest and moral-theologian FRANZ SCHOLZ used to reside, the GREEK-ORTHODOXE CHURCH and the newly remodelled RATHAUS to be mentioned.