Worth knowing
Görlitz has around 55,000 inhabitants (2013), making it the largest city in Upper Lusatia. Being Germany’s most eastern city, it is part of the so-called “Zipfelbund“, an association of four communities also including Oberstdorf in the South, Selfkant in the West, and List in the North, the nation’s most outlying towns in the four directions.
Though Görlitz is the easternmost city of Germany, it is definitely European in its outlook. This is partly due to its location on the 15th meridian, but also because it was declared an “Europastadt” (City of Europe) together with its Polish district Zgorzelec, and because it nearly achieved the status of Culture Capital of Europe.
The city is home to almost 5,800 businesses with 20,000 employees (2013) in the industrial, trade, retail and service sectors. Because of its nearly 4,000 monuments it is often called the largest single surface monument in Germany. The characteristic manors with their impressive cross vaults are the basis for the city’s application for the title of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.
