The district town of Görlitz is the easternmost town in Germany and the largest town in Upper Lusatia. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse, which was established as the border with Poland after the Second World War. Since then, the part of the city to the east of the river has belonged to the neighboring country as the independent city of Zgorzelec.

The first settlements in the region can be traced back to the late Neolithic period. Finds of bronze coins from the late imperial period point to Roman traces. After the area was abandoned during the Migration Period, Slavic tribes did not settle again until the 7th century. Due to the conflict between Bohemia, Poland and the Holy Roman Empire, there were frequent changes of rule, which hampered the development of the settlements.

It was not until 1071 that Görlitz was mentioned in a deed of gift from King Henry IV. With the fortification of the town and the settlement of merchants in the 12th century, the village developed into a medieval town. Further disputes over jurisdiction led to Görlitz being annexed to the Electorate of Saxony in April 1636.

After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the town was incorporated into the Prussian province of Silesia and at the same time the district of Görlitz was established within the Liegnitz administrative district. The Prussian period saw industrialization and thus the economic boom of the town.

Following the division of Silesia after the First World War, Görlitz became part of the western province of Lower Silesia. During the National Socialist era, the attempt to destroy the synagogue failed, so that today Görlitz has one of the few intact Jewish places of worship in Saxony.

After the division of the city at the end of the Second World War, the city became internationally known following the signing of the agreement between the People's Republic of Poland and the German Democratic Republic on the recognition of the Oder-Neisse border. With reunification, the Federal Republic of Germany finally recognized this border and Görlitz became an independent town in the newly formed administrative district of Dresden.

On March 5, 1991, Lord Mayor Lechner and City Councillor Erward sealed the partnership between the two cities during their visit to Wiesbaden and signed the Golden Book of the Hessian state capital at a festive ceremony. Wiesbaden supported the political and social change in Görlitz during the reunification period with a total of 4.4 million marks. For example, the Horst Schmidt Clinics supported the Görlitz Clinic and the partner city's transport company received Wiesbaden buses to further expand local public transport.

Today, the Helene Lange School in Wiesbaden organizes annual student exchanges and enables young people to complete their social internship in the twin city.