Holiday in Upper Lusatia

What makes Upper Lusatia special as a destination?

Upper Lusatia in the far east of Saxony is Germany's most underrated cultural landscape – a mosaic of baroque towns, Sorbian tradition, an emerging lake landscape, and a history that spans from Slavic roots to Prussian cloth makers to one of the most spectacular landscape transformations in Europe. Here, where Germany borders Poland and the Czech Republic, one of the largest artificial lake landscapes in the world is being created from former lignite open-cast mines. Görlitz is the pearl of Upper Lusatia and boasts the best-preserved old town in Germany – no wonder Hollywood regularly films here. Over 4,000 listed buildings from Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Art Nouveau stand closely together, without a single bomb having fallen during the war. The divided city with the Polish Zgorzelec on the other side of the Neisse has its own unique border town charm. Bautzen, the "City of Towers," is the capital of the Sorbs – Germany's only recognized Slavic minority. Bilingual street signs, Sorbian Easter customs like Easter riding, and a vibrant culture make Bautzen unique. The medieval old town on the rocky spur above the Spree and the famous Bautzen mustard factory are additional highlights. The Lusatian Lake District is a unique future project: dozens of former open-cast mines are being flooded to create lakes and connected by navigable canals. Bärwalder See, Berzdorfer See, and Senftenberger See already offer beaches, marinas, and water sports – a whole new holiday landscape is emerging before our eyes. The Zittau Mountains at the Czech border surprise with bizarre sandstone rocks, the lovingly restored spa town of Oybin with its castle ruins, and the narrow-gauge railway that steams through the fairytale landscape. Upper Lusatia is reachable from Berlin in two hours and from Dresden in one hour – and costs a fraction of western German holiday regions.