Experience history and stories in historic cities
Lots of towers. Good view.
Sorbian customs and traditions are part of life in Bautzen. The city of towers offers an exciting cultural environment and has a fascinating old town with special rustic inns. The heyday of the six-city alliance comes to life here.
Bautzen (Sorbian Budyšin) is the oldest city in the Six Cities. During your visit you will always discover traces of the Sorbs, the smallest Slavic people who have lived in Upper Lusatia for centuries. Bilingual names show the way. With around 1400 monuments from all eras, the city is an exciting history book. The medieval old town provides the backdrop for events and city tours. A special highlight of the year are the Easter days with a colorful program of events such as Easter riding and the Easter market.
Görliwood and Hallenhäuser
Görlitz and Zgorzelec connect bridges over the Neisse. The German and Polish coexistence shapes everyday life. Many say that Görlitz is the most beautiful city in Germany. Magnificent facades and inner courtyards show the trade and change in the city.
The flair of the historic trading town is very lively in Görlitz, filmmakers from all over the world discover Görlitz as a film location. The reality shows Görlitz as a cosmopolitan, cultural city with a wide range of events. What was shown in Görlitz centuries ago is still alive today: busy alleys, visitors from different countries and magnificent walls. The oldest Renaissance building is the Görlitzr Schönhof. It has been excellently restored and is the home of the Silesian Museum. Events such as the Jazz Days, Via Thea or the Silesian Christmas Market could be an occasion for you to visit Görlitz.
Artful and surprising
Kamenz was first mentioned in a document in 1225 and looks back on almost 800 years of eventful history. Many historical monuments show the way through the narrow streets. Authentic places refer to Lessing's time in the city.
Art has many faces in Kamenz: It is shaped by big names and unknown masters. Sometimes it is easy to discover, often it can only be discovered at second glance. Take your time for your visit, in Lessingstadt, like Bautzen, Görlitz and Zittau, there is a station on the trinational Via Sacra. Kamenz also has a lot to offer in terms of nature. You can delight in the numerous blooming rhododendrons on the Hutberg, which is also known for concerts by popular bands and performers.
City of brewers and weavers
The city of Luban is located in Poland today and is easy to reach from the German side. A lot has happened in the city in recent years, as can be seen in the market with its neat houses. The Luban Days in June impressively show the cultural diversity of the city.
The easternmost town in the group was called Lauban during the heyday of the Upper Lusatian Six-Town Federation and is a day's walk from Görlitz. It owed its prosperity to its skilled craftsmen and brewers, as well as merchants traveling through it. The Brüderturm rises above the city at 45 meters. Take a look around Lubań, hardworking hands have created a lot. The beautifully situated Frauenkirche, the historic salt house and the magnificent Renaissance town hall are definitely worth a visit. The area around Lubań is also highly recommended.
Baroque beauty
Zittau was called the rich among the alliance places. The facades of the baroque town houses are impressive witnesses. The great cultural wealth of the city is particularly evident in the treasures in our museums and in the events of the Gerhart-Hauptmann Theater Görlitz-Zittau.
Zittau became the second richest city in all of Saxony at the time of the six-city federation. But the city also owes its unique cultural treasures to the enterprising cloth merchants. In 1312 cloth makers founded the first guild of Upper Lusatia here. In the Church of the Holy Cross Museum, people are happy to tell you the touching story of the Great Zittau Lent Cloth from 1472. Zittau acts across borders. The application for the title of European Capital of Culture 2025 is planned with the support of the partners and will depend on the outcome of the 2019 referendum.
Where the covenant began
Löbau is also called the city on the mountains. The Löbauer Berg with its Gußeisern observation tower is a popular destination. Once you have climbed up, the view extends far into the country to the Zittau Mountains Nature Park and the Lusatian Mountains.
The founding place of the six-city federation was of particular importance for the entire Upper Lusatia for centuries. This is where the councilors met and there are remarkable testimonies from these times to this day. Let yourself be inspired by the charm of Löbau, even if the councilors of the member cities of the Upper Lusatian Six-City Association back in August 1346 hardly had any leisure. In the Six Cities and Crafts Museum you will find many testimonies to this time, including the convent cup. The cast-iron observation tower and the Schminke house are unique in their kind.
Go on a journey through time - the family city experience
Go on a journey through time with your family in the Six Cities League. Kamenz, Bautzen, Löbau, Zittau, Görlitz and Lubán in Poland invite you to a variety of family experiences. Numerous contemporary witnesses from the heyday of the six-city alliance can still be experienced today. Discover stories and history up close.
The Six Cities Alliance
The Upper Lusatian Union of Six Cities was founded in Löbau in 1346 as an assistance pact, and trade and handicrafts grew in importance. Emperor Charles IV recognized the alliance and thus strengthened the position of the cities against the landed gentry. Together the cities protected their trade routes and pronounced justice. The councilors met regularly at the convention, also to clarify contentious issues. The alliance lasted almost 500 years before it lost its importance.
The cities of the Upper Lusatian six-city union Bautzen, Görlitz, Kamenz, Löbau. Lubań (in Poland) and Zittau are today very special attractions for travelers from near and far. Magnificent town houses, proud churches and well-fortified fortifications bear witness to the era when the cities were united in the medieval alliance. The cities also provide the backdrop for a variety of cultural events. City festivals invite you to colorful programs. Traditional and modern plays are performed in halls and theaters and rousing concerts are given. From the international street theater festival “Via Thea” and the old town festival /Jakuby festival in Görlitz to the day of the open monument and the old town festival water! Art! Light! In Bautzen there are numerous small and large festivals in each of the six cities that should not be missed. During exciting city tours, the special features of each city are pointed out. Eventful stories are clearly communicated. Sacred treasures of European standing are impressively presented in imposing churches. Four of the German stations of the Via Sacra are located in the cities of the six-city league. Visits to museums of different orientations often bring aha-effects and new knowledge. The culinary offers in the inns are a must. The historical pavements in the old towns breathe history and invite you to travel back in time.
Have we piqued your interest?
Easter events, city festivals and Christmas markets in the cities of the Upper Lusatian Six-City Association are more than just an insider tip!
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Your trip takes you to the cities of Bautzen, Görlitz, Kamenz, Löbau, Luban and Zittau. You are invited to experience the peculiarities of the cities and to discover the traces of the medieval six-city league. As the city of towers, Bautzen offers wonderful views - into the surrounding area and into the city itself. Görlitz, the city on the Neisse, is a complete urban work of art with over 4,000 architectural monuments from almost all styles. The connection to Zgorzelec, the Polish sister city, lives in everyday life and in cultural togetherness. Jakob Böhme, the theosophist, worked here. Kamenz also has big names, the city is the birthplace of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. A trip to Löbau is also exciting. On the Löbauer Berg you can reward yourself with an ascent to the cast-iron tower. Lubań, now the Polish city in the Bund, invites you to visit the city and to go on excursions in the area. Zittau awaits you with the two Zittau Lenten towels, these were a sensation when they were found and are one of the 20 stations of the Via Sacra in the border triangle.
Round trip through 6 Upper Lusatian city pearls
Go on a "treasure hunt" on this trip and discover special "treasures" in the individual towns of the former Upper Lusatian Six Towns Confederation as you follow in the footsteps of historical events.
- Kamenz - here you will visit the Lessing Museum, dedicated to the town's most famous son.
- Bautzen - on a tour of the town with the "Türmerin" you will get to know the most important sights of the town.
- Lauban - a delicious Polish dinner awaits you here in the castle ambience of nearby Czocha Castle.
- Görlitz - take a tour of the old town on , and discover the historical buildings as well as one or two film sets.
- Zittau - your destination here is of course the famous Lenten cloths, medieval textile works of art of European standing.
- Löbau - on a tour of the town you will get to know the smallest of the historical towns in the Confederation.
questions and answers
Von Händlern und Herrschern im Oberlausitzer Sechsstädtebund
Entdecken Sie eine Zeitreise durch die Oberlausitz! Der Oberlausitzer Sechsstädtebund! Über viele Jahrhunderte waren sechs Oberlausitzer Städte attraktive Anlaufpunkte für Geschäftsreisende aus vieler Herren Länder. Zum gemeinsamen Schutz vor Feinden und Räubern gründeten Bautzen, Görlitz, Kamenz, Lubań, Löbau und Zittau im Jahre 1346 den Oberlausitzer Sechsstädtebund. Erst im Jahr 1815 wurde der Sechsstädtebund als Folge des Wiener Kongresses aufgelöst. Dennoch sind diese sechs Städte immer ganz besondere Anziehungspunkte für Reisende aus aller Welt. Sie staunen über prächtige Bürgerhäuser, stolze Kirchen und wehrhafte Befestigungsanlagen aus der Epoche, die jene sechs Städte zusammenschmiedete.
