Sitting mere feet from the Polish border, the nearly millennium old city of Görlitz is a picturesque German town right on the banks of the Lusatian Neisse River. As Germany’s farthest-east town, it lies directly across from the Polish city of Zgorzelec, reachable by a short, 15-minute walk without customs headaches 🫡. A city dripping with history, Görlitz was even visited several times by the Napoleon Bonaparte. A culturally diverse city with a population of around 56,000 residents, it’s the state of Saxony’s 6th largest metropolitan area.
As the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the 2nd largest in the Lusatia region, and the largest in the German part of Silesia, Görlitz was initially founded and settled by the Sorbs. This is reflected in its name – meaning “burned land” in Slavic – which was the method used to clear the land for settlement. The town was first mentioned in a 1071 document by King Henry IV of Germany, who later became Holy Roman Emperor, and granted Görlitz to a Catholic diocese, the Diocese of Meissen. Over the following centuries, the village changed hands numerous times, coming under the control of the Holy Roman Empire, Bohemia, the Piast dynasty of Poland, Lusatian Germany, Hungary, and Sweden.
It was only after the Thirty Years’ War that Görlitz shifted to German control. The city was first taken by Sweden in 1623, then ceded to Saxony in 1635, only to be reoccupied by Sweden until 1641, and then finally reclaimed by Imperial and Saxon forces. Görlitz remained part of the Kingdom of Saxony for 174 years, until it was transferred to Prussia in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars. After the end of WWII, in 1945, it become part of East Germany.
Thankfully, Görlitz was spared significant damage during World War II. As a result, the city is renowned for its exceptionally well-preserved historic architecture. It’s frequently used as a film location, most notably for the well-known film Inglourious Basterds. Also, because it laid along one of the only two routes connecting Warsaw and Dresden back in the 1600s, several notable historical figures have visited the city, including King Augustus II the Strong, King Augustus III of Poland, and, as mentioned, the infamous Napoleon Bonaparte.
Today, Görlitz is a vibrant city that seamlessly blends its industrial present with its rich historical past. Beer enthusiasts can visit Landskron Braumanufaktur, a 1869 historic brewery and one of Germany’s oldest operating industrial monuments. Wildlife lovers can explore the Naturschutz-Tierpark, which is home to around 500 animals from nearly 100 different species. History and architecture enthusiasts can admire Peterskirche, a monumental Gothic Protestant church that has been a city landmark since the 13th century. For those interested in cultural history, the Kulturhistorisches Museum Görlitz, dating back to 1726, offers a diverse collection on the history of Görlitz and Upper Lusatia, while the Schlesisches Museum serves as Germany’s central institution for the cultural history of Silesia.
These are just a few of the many experiences visitors can enjoy in Görlitz.
Due to the nature of our visit, we were unfortunately unable to visit these places. Members of my immediate and extended family visited Görlitz for deeply personal reasons. The family on my mother’s side was from Eastern Germany, forced to flee during World War II by the Nazis due to being Jewish. Görlitz was home to my great-grandmother and her family, with several family members buried in the Friedhof der Jüdischen Gemeinde (Cemetery of the Jewish Community), located in the southern part of the city.
Before our visit, my mother was contacted by an incredible woman named Lauren, a Jewish-American now living in Görlitz with her family. Lauren has dedicated her life to reconnecting people with their Jewish ancestry tied to Görlitz, ensuring that the lives lost or disrupted during WWII are not forgotten. Her efforts reconnected us with our family history in Görlitz ❤️. We first visited nearby Bautzen, the home of my grandfather and his family, for a large family reunion, with Görlitz being a quick one-hour train ride away. Lauren served as our personal tour guide, taking us to historical sites significant to our family for personal reasons and to the local Jewish community as a whole.
This included the childhood home of my great-grandmother, where she spent many years before marrying my great-grandfather and moving to Bautzen. Here we learned about numerous extended family members, including 7 who were victims of the Holocaust. Lauren told us about my great-great-grandfather, Hugo Cohn, who served for many years on the Görlitz city council, including as its president, before his suspicious death in 1933… after which a Nazi Party representative replaced him. We also learned about relatives who took their own lives the night before being sent to concentration camps. It was a deeply informative, yet profoundly somber, personal history lesson.
Throughout our walk of the city, we visited several Stolpersteines dedicated to various family members. Translated as “stumbling stones,” these small brass plaques are embedded in sidewalks to honor victims of the Nazi regime and can be found in many German cities (as well as other European cities, like Prague). Our family has 4 in Bautzen and 11 in Görlitz.
We visited the historic Old Synagogue, built in 1853 as the first Jewish house of worship in Görlitz, following the medieval expulsion of Jews from the area. Located at Langenstraße 24, it served the local Jewish community for 58 years until a new synagogue was built in 1911. Over the next century, the building was repurposed for various uses, including as a studio and as a prop stage for the municipal theater. In 2012, the Michel family acquired the synagogue and began restoration efforts to preserve its architectural and historical integrity. Their efforts transformed the building into a “Literaturhaus” (House of Literature), revitalizing the synagogue and securing its role as a cultural landmark in Görlitz.
Next, we visited the Kulturforum Görlitzer Synagoge, built in 1911. A rare survivor of Jewish life in the region, it now serves as a cultural, historical, and dialogue center. Located at Otto-Müller-Straße 3, we were very fortunate to have a private tour, during which we learned about its history. The synagogue is stunning, blending neoclassical and Art Nouveau styles, and is one of the few synagogues in Saxony to survive the November Pogrom of 1938… infamously known as Kristallnacht or the “Night of Broken Glass”.
While it suffered minimal damage during that horrible night, decades of neglect followed due to Nazi occupation and communist rule in Eastern Germany. As the Jewish population slowly increased, restoration efforts began in 1991, and concluded with a grand reopening in 2021. Today, it serves as the main synagogue in Görlitz. There is even a plaque honoring two of our family members inside.
Finally, we visited the Cemetery of the Jewish Community, where several of our family members are buried. Formed in the mid-19th century, it served the local Jewish community until 1934, with many gravestones inscribed in both German and Hebrew. During WWII, the cemetery was unsurprisingly abused, with the mortuary blown up in 1938, and it suffered further desecration in the years following the war. Thankfully, it was preserved enough to avoid full destruction. Today, the cemetery is a key part of remembrance and educational efforts, with numerous projects dedicated to honoring its rich history. Today, the cemetery is open to the public daily, except on Shabbat (from sunset on Friday to nightfall on Saturday).
In addition to visiting these specific sites, we enjoyed a guided walk by Lauren through the beautiful streets of Görlitz. Having suffered minimal damage during WWII, many of the city’s centuries-old buildings remain undamaged, making it one of the most beautiful and striking medieval cities I’ve visited in Europe. Many of the streets are still filled with cobblestones, historic buildings from centuries past line the avenues, and landmarks such as the 14th-century clock tower of Town Hall, reminiscent of the The Prague Astronomical Clock., which all add to the city’s charm. Görlitz is truly a city best explored on foot.
Overall, visiting the city of Görlitz was truly remarkable. What made it so incredibly special was experiencing it with so many members of my family, including my daughter, mother, stepfather, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Returning to the city from which our family was forcibly expelled by the Nazi regime was a dreamlike and deeply moving experience. Three living generations just walking along the same sidewalks and streets that our ancestors once did, many over a century ago. While Görlitz may not rank among Germany’s most famous cities, such as Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Dresden, etc., its an incredible city well worth a visit. With its cobblestone streets, historic buildings, beautiful churches, interesting shops, and intriguing museums, Görlitz is a true German treasure.
