Zittau is a small city in the extreme southeast portion of the former East Germany. It is about as far out of the way as you can go and still be in Germany. It is not accessible by any Autobahn and the hilly terrain on the secondary roads makes getting there a slow and time consuming proposition.
What attracted me the most to Zittau though (besides being a remote place) was its proximity to Poland and the Czech Republic. In Zittau, you have the ability to cross the German border into Poland and then go a little further and cross the Polish border into the Czech Republic, thus visiting three countries in a matter of minutes. A tiny sliver of Poland lies just across the river from Zittau that is only about a mile wide and is flanked by the Czech Republic on its other side.
The tourist office in the center of Zittau can give you a town map and show you how to get to the border. It is possible to drive, but unless you are going on into the Czech frontier, I would recommend walking across the border as opposed to driving. There was quite a line of cars waiting on the German side to get through, but cyclists and pedestrians were given priority and didn't have to wait. You just present your passport to the German and then the Polish border guards and go on through.
You can park your car on the side street closest to the border (the last right before you get to the border) and from there it is only a 100 yard walk to the river. Once in Poland it is about a mile walk to the Czech Republic, but that walk is very easy as it is flat and the road lined with trees that provide shade. Then you get to the Czech border and present your passport again. There is nothing but a guard post and a currency exchange on the Czech side. On the road through Poland, there is service station and people selling things on the side of the road.
Zittau is a nice city to visit, but has been hit by hard by the changes brought about by the end of communism. Go to the tourist office in the Ratshaus in the city center for more information. Also, there is a guided tour that takes place on Saturday and is very good. It cost only DM5, but lasted for about three hours and took you through much of the cities history and by all the significant buildings.
Many of the buildings have been renovated. The city celebrated its 750th year in 1987 so the communists renovated many of the main buildings on the outside then, but did not work on the interiors. This is evident in the largest church in the city center. It was clean and white and very new looking on the outside, but once you entered it, it was clear that few improvements had been made on it for many years. It was very dirty and dark. The finish on the wood fixtures had worn off and the wood was deteriorating. The walls were peeling and cracking. It had the appearance of being unused or used for storage instead of worship. I've never seen a church in that condition in the west, but I saw several like it in the east. One reason for this was that during communism, while it wasn't forbidden, religion wasn't promoted. Affiliation with the Lutheran church (East Germany's largest denomination) fell to three percent of the population during the communist years.
Like many cities in East Germany, Zittau was adversely affected by the fall of communism. The cities population before the wall fell had been 63,000, today it is only 28,000. This population loss occurred in many cities as easterners went west to find jobs. Many houses and buildings are vacant and many are in a state of severe disrepair and are probably beyond repair. |
Zittau's Ratshaus cloaked in scaffolding.
Recently renovated buildings in Zittau's city center. The style of the dormer windows on the upper floors is unique to this region.
Buildings undergoing renovation in Zittau.
Typical building in Zittau (not falling down, but not in the best of shape) beside a newly renovated building in pink.
Former store building in Zittau.
Strangly out of place abandoned communist era building (apartment?) in Zittau by the Polish border.
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