Upper Lusatia is full of variety
Lots of bike tours and five exciting topics
Discover the Upper Lusatia cycling region, which awaits you with a network of over 3,600 km of tours. For a better overview, we have provided you with tours sorted according to five exciting themes on this page. It doesn't matter whether you want to cycle along idyllic lakes, immerse yourself in the rich culture and history, explore the border triangle with Poland and the Czech Republic, experience nature up close or discover the cities by bike - there is something here for every cycling taste!
These highlights await you!
Bautzen impresses!
Just half an hour's drive from Dresden is the town of Bautzen - the town of towers. The sight of it takes your breath away: fortified bastions and towers rise up into the sky on a granite rock. Below them, the River Spree winds its way around the more than 1,000-year-old city complex, as if to emphasize with its glitter what connoisseurs have long known: Bautzen's silhouette is one of the most impressive cityscapes in the whole of Germany. Behind the fortress walls, around 1,000 architectural monuments are waiting to be discovered. A family vacation is also guaranteed to be an experience thanks to the dinosaur park, climbing garden and lots of other leisure activities in Bautzen and the surrounding area!
Further information can be found here!
Zittau and the Zittauer Gebirge Nature Park
The Zittau Mountains Nature Park, which was designated by the state of Saxony in 2007, is the 100th nature park in Germany. Together with the neighboring Lusatian Mountains and the Jeschkenkamm, it forms a joint nature and landscape park. Unique to the nature park is the harmony of the Zittau Mountains, Lake Olbersdorf, the historic town of Zittau and the idyllic villages with their typical Upper Lusatian half-timbered houses. In addition, the town of Zittau, which was once reverently called "the rich" by the neighboring towns in the area, impresses with its unmistakable townscape. A stroll through the historic old town shows that this name was certainly justified.
More information about the nature park and the town of Zittau can be found here!
Lusatian Lakeland - here you can dive!
Huge expanses of water glisten in the sun, families set off on bike tours, stand-up paddlers paddle their lengths and boats sail on the lake. What is now reality in the Lusatian Lakeland was a seemingly infinitely distant dream just a few decades ago. The lunar landscapes of former open-cast lignite mines have developed into an attractive tourist destination. With more than 20 flooded lakes and navigable canals, the Lusatian Lakeland is home to the largest man-made water landscape in Europe.
You can read more information about the Lusatian Lakeland here!
Great heritage - unique landscape art!
The "Great Heritage" is reflected in the special landscape, but also in the architecture and life in Lusatia. With World Heritage, Geopark, Biosphere Reserves and Intangible Heritage, four different UNESCO titles have been awarded to the Lusatian region - which is unparalleled worldwide. The World Heritage Site Muskauer Park/ Park Mużakowski, the transnational World Heritage Site "Settlements of the Moravian Church", the Global Geopark Muskauer Faltenbogen/ Łuk Mużakowa, the Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape Biosphere Reserve and the intangible heritage of blue printing are particularly worthy of protection in the opinion of UNESCO.
You can find more information about the UNESCO titles here!
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape
The UNESCO biosphere reserve is known beyond the borders of Saxony for its natural features. Here, forests, moors and ponds alternate in the smallest of spaces, providing a home for white-tailed eagles, cranes, otters and many other animals.
It is also the largest bird and nature reserve in Saxony. During a visit to the "HAUS DER TAUSEND TEICHE", you can learn lots of interesting facts about the flora and fauna of the heath and pond landscape in themed lectures, at events or on guided hikes.
Further information on the UNESCO biosphere reserve Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape!
Görlitz - a pearl of Upper Lusatia
Görlitz, the easternmost city in Germany, hides gems from 500 years of European architectural history. The lovingly restored Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau buildings not only delight visitors, but also regularly attract national and international film producers. In addition to the fantastic backdrop, they particularly appreciate the hospitality of the people of Görlitz. Whether at the numerous cultural events in the European flair of the German-Polish European city, in the city's top-class museums, on a shopping tour or relaxing on the beautiful Lake Berzdorf just outside the city gates - Görlitz has something for everyone.
Unique to Görlitz are the hall houses along the historic VIA REGIA trade route. The "merchants' palaces" are a mixture of residential, commercial and representative buildings and give a good impression of what life was like for the well-heeled in the late Middle Ages.
More information about the city of Görlitz can be found here!
Probably the oldest blueprint workshop in Germany!
If you want to experience artisan creativity and inventiveness, the West Lusatia sub-region is just the place for you. The production of regional products has a long tradition here. Gingerbread is particularly popular in Pulsnitz. But it is also home to what is probably the oldest blueprint workshop still in production in Germany, where 1,000 models are used to print a wide variety of patterns on cotton or linen fabric. They are the treasure of every blueprint workshop. The oldest model in Pulsnitz is the journeyman's piece "Joshua and Caleb" by Samuel Stein from 1720. The fabric becomes blue with a white pattern in various work and dyeing processes.
You can find more highlights from West Lusatia here!
The door is open, even more so the heart!
There are several monasteries in Upper Lusatia, the best known of which are probably St. Marienstern Monastery (Panschwitz Kuckau) and St. Marienthal Monastery (Ostritz). The monastery in Ostritz has existed since 1234 and is therefore older than St. Marienstern. The year it was founded also makes it the oldest nunnery of the Cistercian order in Germany. Both monasteries are well connected to various cycle routes in Upper Lusatia. The best way to reach St. Marienstern Monastery is on the"Sorbian Impressions" cycle route, while St. Marienthal Monastery is on the"Oder-Neisse Cycle Route".
You can find more cultural highlights here!
The Landskron brewery manufactory
Landskron Brau-Manufaktur, a gem that survived two world wars and 40 years of East Germany. Today, Landskron is Germany's largest brewery and the most important beer brand, brewing naturally matured master beers in a high-quality range of varieties using the art of craft brewing. Once in Görlitz, you should not miss out on a guided tour of the Landskron Kulturbrauerei, which can be perfectly integrated into the round trip on the day of arrival or on the last day.
If you have time, stay a little longer and review your experiences in the visitor center.
Click here to go directly to the guided tour of the Landskron Kulturbrauerei