Görlitz
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- The title of this article contains the character ö. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Goerlitz.
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| Country | Germany |
| State | Free State of Saxony |
| Administrative region | Dresden |
| District | urban district |
| Population | 57,942 source (2005) |
| Area | 67.22 km² |
| Population density | 862 /km² |
| Elevation | 199 m |
| Coordinates | 51°9′ N 14°59′ E |
| Postal code | 02801-02829 |
| Area code | 03581 |
| Licence plate code | GR |
| Mayor | Joachim Paulick (CDU) |
| Website | goerlitz.de |
Görlitz (
pronunciation, Lusatian: Zhorjelc, Czech Zhořelec, Polish: Zgorzelec) is a town in Germany on the river Neiße, in the Bundesland (Federal State) of Saxony, opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was a part of Görlitz until 1945. Today it's the easternmost city in Germany. Historically it has belonged at times to the regions of Lusatia and Silesia.
[edit] History
The date of the town's foundation is unknown. It was first mentioned in 1071. At that time Görlitz was a small village named Gorelic in the region of Lusatia, that soon after became a part of Bohemia. In the 13th century the village gradually became a city. Due to its location on the Via Regia, an ancient and medieval trade road, it became a very rich city. In the following centuries it was a wealthy member of the Six-City League of Upper Lusatia, consisting of the six Lusatian cities Bautzen, Görlitz, Kamenz, Lauban, Löbau and Zittau.
After suffering for years in the Thirty Years' War, the region of Upper Lusatia (including Görlitz) was passed over to Saxony (1635). In 1815, after the Napoleonic Wars, the Congress of Vienna decided to make Görlitz a part of Prussia. Thus the city was a part of the Prussian province of Silesia from 1815 to 1945.
When Nazi Germany lost the war, German troops blew up all bridges crossing the Neiße. The redrawing of boundaries in 1945 – in particular the relocation of the German-Polish border to the Oder-Neisse line – divided the town, the right bank becoming part of Poland, and named Zgorzelec in 1948, while the main portion became part of the German state of Saxony. When the East German states were dissolved in 1952, Görlitz became part of the Dresden Bezirk (region), but the states were restored upon German reunification in 1990.
Today Görlitz and Zgorzelec, two towns on opposite banks of the river, have friendly relations. Two bridges are rebuilt, one bus line connect the German and Polish parts of the town, and there is a common urban management, with annual common sessions of both town councils.
The town has a rich architectural heritage (gothic, renaissance, baroque, historicist, art nouveau), which was - in contrast to most other German cities - not destroyed during World War II. One example for this rich architectural heritage is the Schönhof, which is one of the oldest civil renaissance buildings in Germany.
Görlitz is the hometown of current German football players Michael Ballack and Jens Jeremies.
In 2006 Görlitz was a candidate for European City of Culture 2010. It was hoped that the jury could be convinced by the concept of a Polish-German Cooperation but Essen was awarded, with Görlitz achieving the second place. The Campaign was renamed City of Culture to intensify German-Polish relationship and to attract tourists from all over the world.
[edit] People
- Jakob Böhme - philosopher, 1575 born in a village near Görlitz.
- Michael Ballack, footballer, recently signed to English Premier League club Chelsea, current captain of the German national team.
- Johann Christoph Brotze
- Oskar Morgenstern
- Jens Jeremies, retired footballer, had played for Bayern Munich and the German national team.
