5 Reasons to visit Görlitz

Often considered the Eastern equivalent of Heidelberg in terms of travel attractions, Görlitz is the easternmost Germany's big town, just on the Polish-German border, displaying a variety of historical architectural styles, from the Middle Ages until the ex-DDR.

The rich heritage recommends Görlitz as a destination of choice for both Hollywood movie makers and travellers interested in spending a full day exploring the old cobblestone streets.

I returned to Görlitz a couple of days ago, happily hunting for at least 5 reasons to visit this destination, much appreciated by travellers from all over the world, especially architecture and movie lovers.

1. Art Nouveau Architecture

Since I fell in love with Vienna, many years ago, Art Nouveau became one of my favorite styles in architecture. This style - Jugendstil in the German speaking countries - represents a change from the traditional way of projecting houses and public buildings in general, adding beauty that before confined to the paintings and sculptures. 

This beautiful style has some representatives in Görlitz, starting with the central train station. 

As the railway connection was first opened in 1867 in what was once one of the major cities of Prussia, the train station was permanently extended and decorated to answer the status role at the time. The sky-blue ceiling was first inaugurated in 1915, and last renovated in 1984. For a first time visitor, this monumental impression can mean love at first sight with Görlitz, isn't it?

If you walk from the train station, down on the Berliner Straße, at no. 7 you will find my favorite sample of Art Nouveau in Görlitz: Straßburg Passage. Built in 1908 in order to give a new look to the newest property acquired by the local entrepreneur Otto Straßburg, the Passage gathers a couple of small shops and boutiques. Passing through the elegant arches with an entrance guarded by two beautiful figures embelishes the average shopping experience, leaving the traveller with exquisite impression.

 2. Architecture Mix

If you read this blog you might know how generous is the place that I offer to architecture during my travels. Architecture is a witness of cultures and civilizations, telling stories without too many words.

Architecture lovers like me would be delighted to walk the streets of Görlitz, displaying an extraordinary variety of styles.

Putting together historical layers is not always a pleasant aesthetic experience, but in Görlitz things seems to prove the opposite. A pretty big achievement given the fact that there are around 3,500 buildings covering a period as extended as 500 years. It plays in its advantage that this city was one of the few in Germany, alongside with Lüneburg, therefore most of the constructions went only through renovation without a massive make-over.

The old city hall with its colourful watch reminding of Prague, meets with easy Renaissance and Middle Ages fortifications. One big history book to shortly read during a couple of hours walk. During the weekend, be lucky enough to witness a wedding celebrated at the city hall and you will see how various traditions are coming alive.

Who said that a Middle Ages tower could not match a wedding cake like building from the 20th century?

In 1995, an anonymous donor - some suggested it might be Nicholas Cage - offered 675,000 $ for the renovation of the buildings and therefore, many buildings went through massive renovations. Although there are still many constructions in need of serious make-over, in most cases the eyes are soaked into beautiful colours and bright facades, just ready for a photo - or movie - shooting.

The building of the New City Hall is my favorite so far, as it offers a musical-like harmony between the mathematically divided space, the rich decoration and the glass-windows area that on a sunny day can have some natural reflections of the blue sky. What a delight!

 3. Doors

From the Middle Ages on, doors were sign of a social status, and the symbols chosen for the decoration were often sending a clear message to the passers by about the wealth and prestige of the inhabitants. The doors of Görlitz inspires you to dream about the old times and guess about stories and little drama behind the massive wooden doors centuries ago. Stir up the creative writer in you, the opportunities abund!

 4. Poland is only a couple of steps away

One of the many beautiful things about the European construction is the effort towards the creation of a world without - physical - borders. In Görlitz, this can be fully experienced, while crossing the bridge to Poland. The old bridge between the two countries - with Zgorzelec on the other side of the 5 minutes walk was reopened officially in 2004 and since the creation of the Schengen-free zone within the EU in 2007, it is a symbolic message of how open borders can create open minds. When the efforts are on both sides and people know to appreciate an extraordinary priviledge. (If you were born during a time and in a place when and where your travel plans were under the random control of state institutions aiming at keeping you inside of a prison of a country, you know what I am talking about).

 5. Hollywood+Görlitz=Love

Not only Berlin and Babelsberg are top destinations for movie lovers. Hollywood knows and loves Görlitz very well, as it uses generously its streets and buildings as locations of many of its films. Hence, the nickname of the city among the film connoiseurs: Görliwood. 

Take, for instance, the famous Art Nouveau Department Store (Görlitzer Warenhaus) on Demianiplatz. Grand Budapest Hotel was partially filmed here, using the impressive framework that I had the chance to visit during my trip which coincided with an open-doors day of historical buildings. The Department store is a famous location for fashion shows and after quite a battle to get the building permits is supposed to open soon as an outlet and luxury brands destination.

What is less known when it comes to the Görlitz relationship with the American film industry is that the first ever recipient of the Oscar for the best actor in 1929, Emil Jannings was born here. However, film directors as Quentin Tarantino were probably convinced to film here not nececssarily because of the low costs, but because those streets and beautiful houses can easily recreate any environment. If you watched movies like Around the World in 80 Days - with Jackie Chan, or The Book Thief, or The Reader - with Kate Winslet or Monument Men or Inglorious Basterds or...or..., maybe you should watch them again as you might recognize some of the locations.

There are more many reasons to visit Görlitz, and all I can do is to wait until my next trip for even more discoveries. Although the 3 hours ride by train from Berlin can be a bit discouraging if you are looking for a short trip, it is worth every single moment spent on its streets, camera in hand and head in the clouds looking for inspiration for more and more travel stories. 

For more inspiration, check the dedicated Pinterest board

Exploring Gropiusstadt

An agglomeration of over 18,500 social flats, Gropiusstadt is a place where you rather live but rarely go to visit. Unless you are interested in architecture and in a social history of Berlin that you don't read it too often in the usual travel guides about the city. Part of the Neukölln borough, this part of the city developed as a working-class area since the beginning of the 19th century. 

After the WWII, the urban planners realized that the constructions were not appropriate for the needs of the working class and requested the famous Martin Gropius, the founder of the Bauhaus school of architecture that leaved Germany for the US during the war, to plan a new urban settlement. The works took place between 1962 and 1975, resulting in a modern agglomeration aimed to host 36,000 people. Unusually for Berlin, there are sky scrappers everywhere, part of larger units including school, kindergarten, parks and community centers. 

Besides its relevance for the architecture lovers, Gropiusstadt - Gropius city - become famous for being the residence of the young rebels of the Germany, mentioned in Christiane F. book 'Wir Kinder von Bahnhof Zoo', a revelation book about drugs abuse among youngsters in the Western part of Berlin.

Although I've visited this area before, a couple of weeks ago I decided to cover it systematically, starting from the three main U-Bahn (metro) stations - on the U7 line.

First stop: Johannisthaler Chaussee. The metro station looks desolate, aesthetically unwelcoming, but it makes you forget the ugliness by leading you directly to a center of consumption, a shopping center - Gropius Pasagen - newly built, replacing the one in use before the Berlin reunification.

We turned down to Kirschnerweg and Anita Nemitz Weg, our presence becoming smaller and smaller in the middle of the 10+-store buildings. For Western Berlin and for West Germany in general such construction were just bold at the time as except maybe Frankfurt am Main, you can rarely see buildings more than 5-6-store. Many of them were looking quite worn out though, with black patches of humidity against the dirty white facades. 

The buildings are geometrically set shoulder-to-shoulder, creating at least for the camera, an interesting impression. Although I find the game of angles and volumes quite fascinating, my personal choice remains for the small houses with big gardens, private islands in the outskirts of the city.

The monotony is happily disrupted by blue balconies - some buildings on Johannisthaller Chaussee - or some modest works of art in the middle of green areas in between the concrete constructions. In the middle of the week, almost lunch time, there were not too many young people around, but I can imagine this place full of children roaming around in the summer and early autumn. The intermediate spaces between buildings have a mediation role to bring together people from the area and create small communities. 

The wave-shapes of some facades create individuality for some buildings, but also offer a creative use of the casual construction materials.

Tucked between concrete, there is an area that probably was originally built before the Gropius plans took shape. Around Severingstrasse, there is a relatively modest area where individual families occupy one house, deserved by a garden. My healthy alternative to the lack of privacy of the huge social units.

The natural area, which was generously maintained all over this part of Gropius Stadt, brings balance and fresh air in an area predominated by heavy grey buildings. It also offers a private space and area for reflection and meditation. By comparison, in the former Eastern European blocks of flats areas - the so-called Plattenbau (more about them in a future post) - the constructions ate almost entirely the green space. 

The next stop, one metro station away: Lipschitzallee. It looks better kept but still with tiles that reminds you hospitals and nothing pleasant for the eyes in general.

In this part of the city, the buildings are more organised according to community functions, with Gemeinschaftshausen (Community houses) in the middle of radial disposition of buildings hosting libraries, religious spaces, libraries, children meeting areas.

The buildings are even higher, with blocks added in a creative - even colourful way. This part looks more modern and more attractive, with more diversity in terms of volumes and disposition of the buildings. The buildings also look better maintained.

Another feature of the area are the many open spaces and markets, with abundant wild vegetation.

The last stop of this tour: Wutzkyallee metro station. It looks much better, not only because of the blue tiles, but also for the various pictures presenting various stages of construction of the area, where Gropius himself appears in the middle of the plans or observing the various developments.

Statues - inspired by the Eastern Island works, maybe - are placed in the front of the school. There is also a Neighborhood center - Nachbarschaftzentrum - aimed to create the social net of human relationships. 

My favorite part of this area, maybe from the entire Gropius Stadt, is around the Theodor Loos Weg, for the the pastel and moderately colourful balconies.

My personal tour of Gropius Stadt lasted more than an hour, during which I felt like a visitor in a completely different world. Although I would not love to live here, the social and architectural experiences revealed just another piece of my beloved Berlin.