Saxony in the Summer: Old Town Zittau

After spending two days back to back hiking the first two stages of the Malerweg, I spent the next two days as rest days. My legs were sore. So the day after, I decided to visit the city of Zittau. This city is near the three-way border of Germany with Poland and the Czech Republic. Indeed, there are quite a few cross-border transportation options, as the train I was on eventually continued to go to Liberec, in the Czech Republic. In any case, I didn't have plans to exit Germany. I only intended to spend the day within Zittau.

Zittau is not the most cheerful place. It used to be a prosperous city, given its central location. Slavic ethnic groups settled in the area, and by the 12th century, it was a major trading centre. However, after World War II and the partition of Germany, Zittau ended up being in a forgotten corner of Germany, when its fortunes were reversed. As I was walking from the train station to the centre of town, I still saw several buildings that were forgotten and forlorn, and in need of either renovation, or demolition. In any case, there were still quite a few well-preserved buildings along the way, which can be seen above.

I strolled around, visited a few museums, and checked out a few neighbourhoods (I have dedicated posts for these coming up later). I also walked through the pretty Old Town, which was surprisingly visually appealing. As much as there are visible evidence of decay outside of the centre, the centre was actually quite pretty. I ended up meandering around the plaza in front of the Italian-style City Hall. You can see it on my pictures above, together with the Mars Fountain.

Zittau also has a few pretty fountains. I strolled around and found myself by the Salt House, a building dating back from the 16th century. In front of it is another plaza, adorned by the Hercules Fountain. And around the corner is the Swan Fountain, which I didn't take a photo of.

In any case, Zittau was pretty, even though it has a depressing past. While I don't see myself living here, I thought it was a nice place to spend a day in.