Upper Lusatian excursion destinations
Upper Lusatia
Upper Lusatia is the most eastern vacation region in Germany, bordering Poland and the Czech Republic. To the west, Upper Lusatia begins in Bischofswerda, often called “the gateway to Upper Lusatia” and extends up to Kamenz to the north and far beyond. The largest cities in Upper Lusatia are Bautzen as the centre and Görlitz to the east at the German-Polish border. Upper Lusatia displays a variety of landscapes which are unique to this region. The heath and pond landscape in the north, a mountain scenery with many observation towers and extensive cycling and hiking trails in the south up to the Zittau Hills on the Czech border. A vacation in Upper Lusatia means recharging your batteries and to combine phenomenal nature experiences with sport experiences.Thus, Upper Lusatia offers a wide selection of unique attractions and is rich in legends about the treasures that were hidden in the hills a long time ago.
The Zittau Hills
The Zittau Hills are part of the Lusatian Mountains located on the German side straddling the Saxon-Bohemian border. The highest and most prominent mountains in the Zittau Hills are the mountain Lausche with 793 m and the mountain Hochwald with 749 m. The well-known health and spa resorts Oybin, Waltersdorf, Johnsdorf and Lückendorf are situated in the Zittau Hills.The Zittau Hills are a traditionally popular winter sport destination for Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, tobogganing and sports on ice.The hiker is perfectly taken care of in cosy mountain huts as well as taverns.One of our special highlight is the “hiking without baggage” on the Upper Lusatian mountain trail. The Jingletrain is part of the Zittau Hills as much as the mountains themselves. Every day, it huffs and puffs to the spa resorts of the Zittau Hills.
UNESCO Monument Village Obercunnersdorf
The spa resort Obercunnersdorf, with its over 250 listed Upper Lusatian half-timbered houses, is officially recognized and has international significance. Almost every house is unique with its decoration, its shape and its many fine details.The Friseurmuseum, opened on 11. November 2000 exhibits the interior of old hairdressing salons and hairdresser tools from long ago.In the village Kottmarsdorf, a 150- year-old post windmill in good order and a bakery with a wood-fired oven are opened for visitors. Using traditional recipes, you can taste and buy cake or bread during baking days. Around Obercunnersdorf, every hiker will find a variety of scenic viewpoints with a beautiful panoramic view to the Isergebirge, the Sudeten Mountains or the Löbau Mountain.
Herrnhut
During the Advent and Christmas season, Moravian stars decorate many houses, churches, social institutions as well as streets, plazas and shop windows. The custom, to assemble the star within the family and to hang it up the first Sunday in the Advent season, originally comes from Herrnhut and is known worldwide with a long tradition. Today still, such stars are hand-made in Germany. At the beginning of the 20th century a mass production had begun that lead to a widespread use of this Christmas custom.
Cistercian Nun Abbey St. Marienthal Ostritz
The Cistercian Nun Abbey St. Marienthal is the oldest women’s convents of the Cistercian Order in Germany, which has existed without interruptions since its foundation in 1234. Since 2006, 14 nuns belong to the convent under the direction of the abbess Regina Wollmann. The large monastery complex is significant in cultural history. It includes the Convent Church, the abbey with the residence of the abbess, the Residence of the Convent Administrator, the Crucifix Chapel and an outbuilding.
Dinosaur Park Kleinwelka
The Saurian Adventure Park Kleinwelka and the Dinosaur Garden Großwelka near Bautzen are two parks built by Franz Groß. Can you imagine what our planet looked like a hundred million years ago?At that time, none of the continents had today's familiar shapes, and dinosaurs and other reptiles reigned supreme on land, in the ocean and in the air.200 life-size dinosaur sculptures bring this era to life. Meet the giant herbivores of the Cretaceous Period and look directly into the eyes of terrifying predacious lizards.Entertaining experience stations and exciting play equipment make your visit at the Dinosaur Park a perfect experience.
The Saxon Switzerland National Park
The Saxon Switzerland National Park is situated approximately 40 km south of Dresden. Since 1990, these sandstone needles and bizarre shaped with strange conifers, primordial beech forests and deep-running streams are now protected as a National Park. The Elbe Sandstone Mountains offer a variety of possibilities for visitors to discover this unique nature reserve between the cities Pirna and Decin. The massif near the spa resort of Rathen is one of the most famous natural monuments of the Saxon Switzerland National Park. The Bastei cliffs, which are 305 m high, tower 194 m above the river Elbe and offer an impressive scenic landscape view.Many other viewpoints show a panoramic view of all the great mesas (e.g. Lilienstein, Königstein), the Schrammsteinkette, the mountain Großer Winterberg and other major viewpoints and climbing rocks all the way to Bohemia.A short-stay vacationer gets his money worth as much as a passionate hiker.
The Fürst-Pückler-Park Bad Muskau
The Fürst-Pückler-Park in Upper Lusatia is the largest landscape garden in English style in Central Europe with a total area of 545 ha. Two-thirds of the park is located east of the Lusatian river Neisse and belongs to Poland since 1945, more precisely to the local council Leknica (Lugnitz)In 2001, the Fürst- Pückler-Park has been recorded into the book Blaubuch as a national significant cultural institution in the newly formed German provinces. On 2. July 2004, UNESCO added the park to its World Heritage List.
