More than "just" Easter
Easter is the most famous, but by no means the only living Sorbian custom. The Sorbs celebrate a bird wedding on January 25. Children dress up in self-made bird costumes and traditional Sorbian wedding clothes, as legend has it that magpie and raven got married on this day. Say goodbye to winter - that's what the Sorbs say at Zapust, with three days of festivities between the end of January and the beginning of March, including a parade in traditional costume and lots of dancing.
At the same time, the Zampern is also a fun event - people parade through the village in masks and disguises, making music and noise and asking for gifts. Every two years in summer, folklore groups enchant their audiences at the "Łužica - Łužyca -Lausitz" festival. And in the village of Schleife, the tradition of bagpipe playing has been cultivated for more than 400 years and celebrated at the International Bagpipe Festival.
It couldn't be bluer
Its blue was simply the most beautiful: around 1600, the Indian dye indigo began its triumphant advance in Europe - and with it, blue printing. Even today, Sorbian costumes would be unthinkable without it. However, only a few workshops still dedicate themselves to the elaborate process, which has been a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage site since 2016. The patterns are applied to sheets of linen and cotton using a large stamp pad, the model, and a water-insoluble mass, the cardboard. The fabric is then hung in the indigo dye bath several times. Green fabrics emerge first - it is the oxygen in the air that makes them blue. And the white patterns only appear as if by magic once the cardboard has been dissolved out in a water bath containing sulphuric acid.
Fish on the table
With over 1,000 ponds, Upper Lusatia is one of the largest inland fishing regions in Germany. The fishing tradition has been practiced here since the 13th century. Since 2021, "Lusatian fish" has also been established as a brand - and is celebrated every year from the end of September to the beginning of November at the Lusatian Fish Weeks with delicious carp, zander, pike, catfish and sturgeon.
Merchant palaces on the Via Regia
They are small palaces in which the rich cloth merchants on the Via Regia resided, traded and stored their goods. The 35 hall houses built around 1500 on Obermarkt, Untermarkt and in Brüderstraße, Weberstraße and Neißstraße bear witness to the medieval splendor of the time. The unusual feature of the Görlitz hall houses is the central light hall, which supplies the core zone of the very deep houses with daylight. In addition, the cloth merchants were able to lower their bales of cloth down the full length of the high halls and thus demonstrate the quality of the fabrics and colors to their customers. The city of Görlitz is now seeking UNESCO World Heritage status for this great legacy.
The most famous star in Lusatia
It all started in math class: To help them better understand geometry, a teacher from the Moravian Church had his pupils make stars during Advent at the beginning of the 19th century. The pupils brought the custom of making stars back to their families. There it has endured: The assembly of a Herrnhut star still heralds the contemplative Christmas season in Lusatia today.
Living traditions
In Lusatia, we are particularly proud of the traditions and customs that have been with us for a long time and are still an integral part of everyday life today. Not only Sorbian traditions and festivals, such as the artistic decoration of Easter eggs or "Zampern", are alive in people's everyday lives. Traditional crafts, including artistic blue printing or the impressive Herrnhut stars, are also cultivated and are internationally renowned. Even gourmets get their money's worth in Lusatia. The trademarked "Lusatian fish" is farmed in countless ponds. The region is one of the largest and most traditional inland fishing areas in Germany. Every autumn, the Lusatian Fish Weeks delight visitors with delicious regional fish specialties.
Would you like an insight into the ruins of St. Nikolai's Church in Bautzen?
Großes Erbe Faltkarte
Wie kaum eine andere Region Deutschlands steht die Lausitz für gewaltige Gegensätze auf engstem Raum. Gegensätze als Ergebnis eines ständigen Wandels. So prägen noch immer Wunden die Landschaft der Lausitz, allerdings im Kontrast zur Lieblichkeit der englischen Gartenkunst historischer Parkanlagen. Und die Landschaft heilt nach und nach.
Aus Bräuchen und Gegensätzen wird hier Welterbe geschaffen. Von der UNESCO ausgezeichnete Kultur- und Naturerbestätten, Kulturlandschaften, vom Tagebau geprägte Gegenden oder Städte wie Görlitz und Bautzen sind Leuchttürme der Region. Sie erzählen Geschichten, die teils Jahrhunderte überspannen. All das nennen wir unser großes Erbe, welchem wir uns verpflichtet fühlen.
Ausgezeichnet! Großes Erbe im Lausitzer Land
Lassen Sie sich inspirieren von dieser Broschüre, tauchen Sie ein in die Geschichte der Lausitz, ihre Landschaften und Gegensätze,
ihre Architektur und Traditionen. Und gehen Sie selbst auf Entdeckungsreise, bevor es alle tun – das große Erbe wartet auf Sie!
