Görlitz

Görlitz is the easternmost city in Germany, with one of the most remarkable preserved historic centers in the country. The city escaped destruction in the Second World War, so its medieval and Renaissance core survives almost intact, with more than 4,000 protected historic buildings spanning Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Art Nouveau styles. Walking its streets is the main reason to come, and the entire historic district is best seen on foot. Görlitz sits on the west bank of the Lusatian Neisse River, which has formed the border with Poland since 1945. The eastern half of the old town became the separate Polish town of Zgorzelec, leaving Görlitz with one of the most remarkable old centers in the country.

The skyline is dominated by the Church of St. Peter and Paul, known locally as the Peterskirche, whose twin Gothic spires rise above the rooftops at the eastern edge of the old town. The church sits on a rise directly above the river, and the view of it from the riverbank or from the pedestrian bridge to Poland is the city's signature image. Inside is the Sun Organ, an instrument from the early eighteenth century named for the gilded sun disks set among its pipes. The building dates mainly from the fifteenth century, though a church has stood on the site for far longer.

Below the church the Neisse runs quietly between tree-lined banks. A modern pedestrian and cycle bridge, the Altstadtbrücke, crosses to Zgorzelec, restoring a link that was severed for decades after the war. Crossing it takes only a minute, and there is no border check, since both countries are in the Schengen area. On the Polish side a row of restored Baroque houses lines the riverfront, and many visitors walk across simply to look back at the German skyline from the far bank, then return for a coffee or a meal.

The heart of Görlitz is its two adjoining market squares, the Obermarkt and the Untermarkt, connected by short streets and ringed by some of the finest townhouses in eastern Germany. The Untermarkt, the lower market, is unusual in having a block of buildings in its center rather than an open space, which gives it the feel of a series of linked courtyards. Around its edges stand merchant houses with arcaded ground floors, painted facades, and elaborate doorways, many of them dating from the city's prosperous years in the cloth and dye trade.

The Rathaus, the old town hall, anchors the squares. Its tall tower carries an ornate clock and an older astronomical dial, and a curving outdoor staircase leads up to the entrance. From the base of the tower the main pedestrian streets fan out, lined with shops, cafes, and bookshops. The Schönhof, said to be the oldest Renaissance building in Germany, stands nearby and now houses the Silesian Museum, which traces the history and culture of the wider region that Görlitz once belonged to.

What makes Görlitz so rewarding on foot is the density of detail. The old town is compact enough to cover in a day, but nearly every street offers something to stop for: a painted Renaissance gable, a sculpted Baroque portal, a wrought-iron shop sign, or a covered passage cutting between buildings. The narrow lanes between the main squares are particularly atmospheric, paved in cobblestones and quiet enough that the architecture takes center stage.

Among the most photographed corners is the Brüderstrasse, a street of merchant houses leading off the Untermarkt, and the small arched passages that link the old streets. Some of these covered ways were built so that upper floors could span the lane and connect neighboring buildings. They frame views of the houses beyond and give the old town a layered, three-dimensional quality that flat squares alone would not provide.

The painted facades are a recurring pleasure. Several buildings carry Renaissance sgraffito decoration, where designs were scratched into colored plaster, and others are simply washed in the warm reds, ochres, and pale yellows typical of the region. A row of richly decorated houses near the squares shows ornate window surrounds and patterned upper stories, the kind of detail that rewards looking up as well as ahead.

Towers mark the line of the former town fortifications. The Dicker Turm, or Thick Tower, and the round Reichenbacher Turm stood guard over the western approaches, and both still rise above the streets. The Reichenbacher Turm can be climbed for a view over the old town, and the towers serve as useful landmarks when finding your way through the lanes. A short walk out from the center reaches the open squares of the nineteenth-century quarter, where wider boulevards and Art Nouveau apartment blocks show how the city expanded in its industrial years.

One building worth seeking out is the Upper Lusatian Library of Sciences, whose historic reading room is lined floor to ceiling with arched wooden bookcases and antique volumes. It is among the most beautiful library interiors in Germany and reflects the intellectual life of a city that grew wealthy enough to support scholarship as well as trade.

Görlitz has gained a second identity in recent years as a film location, nicknamed Görliwood by locals. Its untouched streets have stood in for other places and other eras in dozens of productions, and parts of several well-known films were shot here, drawn by facades that need almost no alteration to read as historic. The nickname turns up on souvenirs and even on a hillside sign visible from parts of the city, a playful nod to the steady stream of film crews.

The river setting adds another dimension to a visit. Footpaths follow the Neisse along both banks, and in the warmer months small rowing boats can be hired on the water near the old mill buildings. A waterside restaurant terrace built into the old riverworks gives a place to sit above the current, and the riverside park areas are pleasant for an unhurried walk away from the squares.

For arriving and getting oriented, the main station is itself a sight, with a vaulted entrance hall decorated in early twentieth-century style. From there it is a short walk or tram ride into the old town. Once in the historic center there is little reason to use anything but your feet, since the squares, churches, towers, and lanes are all within a few minutes of one another.

Görlitz rewards a slow pace. Unlike larger German cities, it has no single must-see attraction that draws crowds and overshadows everything else. Its appeal lies in the whole rather than the parts: an entire historic city preserved at human scale, walkable end to end, where the pleasure comes from turning corners and finding yet another painted house, another arch, another tower against the sky. For travelers willing to reach this far eastern edge of the country, it is one of the most complete and least spoiled old towns in Germany.