Handwerk, Weberstrasse or Neissestrasse are names we may have never heard of, even less would we think of connecting them with some well-known titles in filmography such as The Book Thief. The aforementioned places belong to a German town sitting on the Polish border, more specifically on the western bank of the Neisse River, that runs through it. The town’s filming history is definitely no real secret to its inhabitants, it was granted the title of European filming location of the decade which pretty much attracts quite a share of visitors each year. Just by taking a tram ride you will probably be able to recognize certain places if you’re keen on movies. If you get out near the Frauenkirche, there stands one of the main filming locations of The Grand Budapest Hotel, the Görlitz Department Store, and just next to it, the alleys and market places of the old town, which saw Quentin Tarantino’s soldiers patrolling around for his 2009 movie Inglorious Basterds. Görlitz has also been the location for movies less known worldwide but quite enjoyed in Germany, such as Goethe, the Young Karl Marx and The Reader/Der Vorleser.
Perhaps one of the main charms of this old Silesian town is its architecture, it seems luck played in its favor since it didn’t get destroyed by war and after it 4,000 buildings were carefully restored. The town used to go beyond the river, now it meets an international border. It’s quite well known what happened after the war, how Poland and Eastern Germany both underwent the communist regime by different rules and, one could pretty much think both sides would have grown to hate each other, this is luckily not the case with the German Görlitz and the Polish town of Zgorzelec. The town presented its candidacy to be the European Capital of Culture in the year 2010, although without success, yet just the mere action represents how relatively unified the town still is, even if on the two banks of the river people and signs speak a completely different language.
It’s a kind of yearly tradition in our seminar just to take a few -hour-long jaunt to this town. Then you can take a tour through the main sites, but I would personally and subjectively suggest one gets lost among the captivating colorful buildings, hanging signs written with the characteristic Fraktur German font and feel its Silesian ambience.
Just after lunch we took a bus to Görlitz and in thirteen minutes we arrived in the town. Now I’ll have a fellow student narrate her experience:
“…we spent there more than three hours, so we had enough time to explore the city. We could admire many architectural styles within the city, such as Baroque, Renaissance and Gothic. Due to the fact it wa
sn’t destroyed during the wartime, it acts as one of Germany’s major architecture reserves, which you can see wandering through its bright and colorful streets.
We scattered all over the town, some students simply went sightseeing, shopping or visited famous filming locations… others lounged in a café, me included. The facade of the one I got into looked pretty inconspicuous but it was really cozy inside. They served those delicious cakes I definitely hope I can try again and experience the relaxing moment again. Overall, I really enjoyed this trip, I got to know new places and it was a really good time. Some people went to try some kebab that they say was nice since there are quite a few street food stalls all around the center, so I would suggest trying those if you’re hungry. If not, there are a lot of interesting and inviting stores to take a peek at.
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