Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [171]
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BAD MUSKAU
035771 / pop 4000
Squeezed against the border with Poland, drowsy Bad Muskau is a tiny spa-village with one big attraction. Unesco-listed Muskauer Park is the verdant masterpiece of 19th-century celebrity landscape gardener, Prince Hermann von Pückler. ‘Prince Pickle’, as the English dubbed him during a controversial visit to London, toiled on the park for 30 years (from 1815 to 1844), but never completed his ‘painting with plants’. He nevertheless set the bar high for European landscapers to follow, even compiling a meticulous instruction manual on landscaping techniques.
In 1945 the park was divided between Germany and Poland when the River Neisse, which bisects Pückler’s creation, became the new border.
Start you exploration at the tourist office ( 504 92; www.badmuskau.info; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat & Sun Apr-Oct, 9am-4pm Mon-Fri Nov-Mar) in the Altes Schloss where you can pick up a map of the sprawling park. Just across the chateau lake stands the freshly renovated Neues Schloss, home to Pückler! ( 631 00; www.muskauer-park.de; adult/concession €6/3; 10am-6pm Apr-Oct), an interactive, push-button caper through the action-packed life of the park’s much-travelled architect. More of the chateau will be opened up to the public in coming years.
At a whopping 560 hectares, the folly-peppered park is too large to be fully explored on foot. Bike hire (€5 per day) is available at the well-signposted Schlossvorwerk, a leafy courtyard where you’ll also find a cafe, gift shops and luggage lockers. If crossing to the Polish side of the park, take your passport.
To reach Bad Muskau, first take a train to Weisswasser from Cottbus (€5.15, 30 minutes) or Görlitz (€7.60, 35 minutes), then change onto local bus 250, alighting at Kirchplatz for the tourist office.
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ZITTAU
03583 / pop 30,000
Wedged firmly between Poland and the Czech Republic, sleepy Zittau is an intriguing outpost tucked away in the far-flung Dreiländereck (the bit of Germany TV weather presenters usually cover with their midriff). Undamaged during WWII its largely baroque Altstadt is an original, though GDR-era neglect is still evident in places. Since 1999, the town’s star attraction has been the Grosse Zittauer Fastentuch, an ultra-rare Lenten veil that was joined by a second, smaller one in 2005. These treasures make Zittau the hub of the Via Sacra, a cross-border holiday route linking sites of religious importance.
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Orientation & Information
The Altstadt is a 10-minute walk south of the Hauptbahnhof, via Bahnhofstrasse and Bautzener Strasse.
Post office (Haberkornplatz 1)
Sparkasse (cnr Neustadt & Frauenstrasse) Bank.
Tourist office ( 752 137; www.zittau.eu; Markt 1; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat, 1-4pm Sun May-Oct)
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Sights & Activities
Zittau’s central square, the Markt, exudes almost Mediterranean flair thanks to its baroque fountain, patrician townhouses and imposing Italian-palazzo-style Rathaus (town hall), drafted by none other than Prussian master builder Karl Friedrich Schinkel.
Schinkel also designed the Johanniskirche ( 510 933; tower adult/concession €1.50/1; noon-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat & Sun Apr-Oct) north of the Markt. This neoclassical church has two towers that don’t match, one of which can be climbed for sweeping views of the mountains. If you’re here at noon or 6pm, you might run into the city trumpeter who plays little tunes daily at those times.
East of the Markt, via Frauenstrasse, is the Neustadt square, with several fountains and the weighty Salzhaus ( 8am-6.30pm). Originally a 16th-century salt storage house, it now houses shops, restaurants and the public library.
Continuing on Frauenstrasse soon takes you to the Museum Kirche zum Heiligen Kreuz ( 500 8920; adult/concession €4/2; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, 10am-5pm Nov-Mar). This former church now shelters