ZITTAU

'Zittau' (Sorbian/Lusatian ''Žitawa'', Czech ''Žitava'') is a city in the south east of the Free State of Saxony, Germany and capital of the Löbau-Zittau district close to the border triangle between Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. As of 2005, there are 26,224 people in the city.
The inner city of Zittau still shows its original beauty with many houses out of several areas of German architecture. There is the famous townhall in an Italian style, the church of St. John with its medieval heritage. This multistoried building is one of the oldest of its kind in Germany.

Contents

History

Main sights

Culture

Transportation

History

Zittau was one of the six members of the Six-City League of Upper Lusatia. At that time the city got a special title - it was called "Die Reiche" ("the Rich") according to its propotion of well-to-do citizens. Primarily due to near-complete war destruction in the mid-1700s this once superior situation is only reflected in few extraordinary buildings and the rich cemeteries of the city. One of the most important trading goods of this early age in the 16th century was beer. Later in the 18th and 19th century textiles became important too, a tradition common in the region of Upper-Lusatia. During World War II, a slave labour camp was located in the city. It provided forced labour for Schoenmann Werke, an aircraft parts manufacturer.^[1]
After the reunification in 1990 most of the big textile-enterprises that survived the time of the GDR nearly without any changes and any further investment closed down in just a few years. The city lost most of its economical strength. In addition, lignite surface mining was discontinued on the outskirts of the city in the foothills of the Zittau Mountains, while it still goes on across the border in Poland. This, however, has saved parts of the city from sure destruction, yet primarily now dormant military garrisons and schools. The city is also disadvantaged by the cheaper labour from neighbouring countries.

Main sights

Culture

There are roughly 3,500 students studying at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and at the independent International Graduate School, Germany's smallest university catering to students from nearby Poland and the Czech Republic.

Transportation

Because of its missing link to good infrastructure the city still suffers, but a direct connection to the nearest motorway between Bautzen and Görlitz is planned.