Upper Lusatian
In the very east of Saxony is the scenically very attractive area of Upper Lusatia. The northern area is characterised by the Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape, while the Upper Lusatian Mountains are located in the south. The centre of the region is the city of Bautzen.
Vacation in Upper Lusatia
Anyone who spends their vacation in Upper Lusatia will be thrilled by the scenic diversity and beauty of the region. Here you can wander through pine forests in the Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape, discover grass and heath landscapes or walk past the countless fish ponds. The biosphere reserve is known as the land of a thousand ponds.
An almost unique landscape is located in the north of Upper Lusatia. Here, due to the open-cast lignite mining and the ended coal mining, an artificial landscape structure has been created, the Lusatian Lakeland.
For those who prefer mountainous regions, the Zittau Mountains are the right region. Here you can hike uphill and downhill and climb one or the other summit cross.
Vacation in the city?
This is also no problem in Upper Lusatia. Bautzen is not only politically the center of the region, the city also has a lot to offer culturally.
Or how about a visit to the film city of Görlitz? Here you can walk in the footsteps of famous actors and film locations and discover a beautiful city.
For those who want to take it a little easier, Zittau on the edge of the Zittau Mountains should not be missed. Here, for example, the Zittau Lenten Cloths and a beautiful old town await the visitor.
Culinary
Upper Lusatia offers an independent and hearty cuisine that is strongly characterized by potatoes and regional influences. The national dish is Teichlmauke, a potato puree with broth and beef. Potato soups (Abernsuppe), jacket potatoes with linseed oil and quark and quark cheese are also very popular.
Typical meat dishes are Kamenzer sausages and Gewiegtesbrutl (meatballs with potatoes). Well-known desserts include Pulsnitz gingerbread and Kleckskuchen. Bautzen mustard and linseed oil are also iconic regional products.
Vacation in Upper Lusatia – our tips
Herrnhut is a place in Saxon Upper Lusatia where everything follows a clear, peaceful order. It is a place whose simple Baroque architecture, daily life, and even its cemetery are shaped by ideas of community, faith, and equality. In the summer of 2024, this quiet world finally received global recognition.
When the days grow shorter and the first light of the Advent season illuminates the darkness, the Herrnhuter® Star with its 25 points appears in countless windows, churches, and Christmas markets. For many people, its warm glow is inseparably linked with the Christmas season. But what is so special about the Herrnhuter® Star?
Pilgrimage on the Via Sacra - for me it went for the first time on pilgrimage in Upper Lusatia: from Oybin to Görlitz in three stages with visits to sacred sites, on foot and by bike. Three wonderful and varied days that made me want to go on further adventures.
Between Zittau and Görlitz, south of Ostritz lies directly on the Neisse River the monastery St.Marienthal. The monastery is a Cistercian abbey and the oldest women's monastery of the order in Germany.
The Zittau Lenten Cloths belong to the most famous ecclesiastical cultural treasures of Upper Lusatia. You can see them in the Museum of Cultural History and the Church of the Holy Cross in the city of Zittau.
In the Zittau Mountains in Saxony lies the small town of Oybin. Above the village rises the Oybin, a 514 meter high mountain and on it are the ruins of Oybin Castle. A place that is interesting not only for fans of castles, but has written a piece of history.
Not only the eyes of railroad fans or children shine, I was also completely thrilled to be able to ride the Zittau narrow gauge railroad in Upper Lusatia.
Visit Görlitz
Görlitz is associated with film like hardly any other city. Famous Hollywood actors and filmmakers come to the film city of Görlitz. It is not for nothing that the city is also called "Görliwood".
The Reichenbach Tower in Görlitz is one of the five towers that can be visited regularly in the city. It stands opposite the Kaisertrutz and is part of the Museum of Cultural History, where you can also get tickets.
The Holy Sepulchre in Görlitz is one of the city's most important sights. It is a scaled-down copy of the original in Jerusalem and was built as a religious work of art.
Görlitz was once surrounded by a double ring of city walls. The Nikolaizwinger is a preserved remnant of the defences around the city.
Cemeteries have a very special attraction, telling the story of a region in a very different way. The Nikolaifriedhof in Görlitz dates back to the 12th century and there is much to discover.
Görlitz not only has a beautiful old town, but also two geographical features to offer. And quite honestly - I wouldn't have known it!
The best view from one of the many towers in Görlitz can certainly be enjoyed from the Town Hall Tower. The climb is worthwhile and is simply part of a visit to the city.
During a walk along the Neißstraße in Görlitz, we discovered tables and chairs under some arches of a house where guests were sitting with glasses of beer. The Görlitz Bierblume brewery magically attracted us and we stopped in.
The Görlitz Museum of Cultural History is a regional museum that is located in three buildings within the city limits: the Baroque House, the Kaisertrutz and the Reichenbach Tower. We took a look at the three quite different areas in the Kulturhistorisches Museum Görlitz and this much we can reveal in advance - it was…
The parish church of St. Peter and Paul is better known in Görlitz as St. Peter's Church. It stands above the Neisse valley and its distinctive spires provided me with an ideal orientation aid in the old town.
Görlitz beer from the Landskron Brau-Manufaktur (Brewery Manufactory) - we went on a journey of discovery through the brewery and, of course, tasted lots of beer.
In Görlitz you can find some remains of the historic city fortifications. We were particularly interested in the towers and so we explored the "Dicken Turm" during our tower tour.
Travel information about Upper Lusatia
Arrival
By plane
The nearest airport is in Dresden, about 55 kilometers from Bautzen.
However, due to the flight connections, it may also be worth flying to Berlin-Brandenburg, Prague (Czech Republic) or Wroclaw (Poland).
By train
The nearest major train station with long-distance trains is in Dresden. From there, regional trains run to Bischofswerda, Bautzen, Görlitz, Zittau, Hoyerswerda, Königsbrück and Kamenz.
From Leipzig you can take the S4 to Hoyerswerda.
The Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn ODEG connects Cottbus with Görlitz and Zittau.
By car
The A4 freeway connects Chemnitz/Leipzig-Dresden-Görlitz-Breslau and crosses Upper Lusatia from west to east.
From Berlin you can reach the region on the B96.
By bike
The Germany route D 4 leads from Jena, Gera, Chemnitz and Dresden to Zittau. Popular is the well-developed bike path along Neisse (Oder-Neisse-Radweg).
On foot
The pilgrimage routes of the Via Regia, the Via Sacra and the Way of St. James lead through Upper Lusatia.
On the way in...
By bus and train
Buses and regional trains throughout Upper Lusatia belong to the Zweckverband Verkehrsverbund Oberlausitz-Niederschlesien. With the “Euro-Neiße-Ticket” you can also travel to the bordering parts of Poland and the Czech Republic.
The Zittau narrow-gauge railroad is operated independently and is one of the tourist highlights of the region.
The historic Muskau Forest Railway connects the towns of Bad Muskau, Krauschwitz, Weißwasser and Kromlau.
By bike
There are numerous well-signposted bike paths in the region.
Rental bicycles are available in many places.
On foot
The hiking trails are varied and well signposted.
Language
Many Sorbs live in the region. Between Kamenz, Bautzen and Hoyerswerda about 20,000 people speak Sorbian. Therefore, you will find many signs in German and Sorbian.
In the Bautzen basin quite good High German is spoken, in the south the Upper Lusatian dialect dominates. In the east, Silesian is still partly spoken.
Wolves
For some years now, the wolf has felt at home again in Upper Lusatia. The only reproducing population of wolves in Germany lives in the Muskauer Heide and the Oberlausitzer Teichland.
The animals usually avoid direct contact with humans and wolf sightings are also very rare.