Explore Großschönau through guided tours, textile culture and nature. These different highlights make it easier to decide what kind of stay suits you best: would you like to spend most of your trip outdoors, learn about traditional crafts at the weaving school, or combine the two?
Guided tours and hikes
The municipality offers seasonal weekly guided tours in Großschönau and Waltersdorf. Guided hikes in the Zittau Mountains are also available. Group tours can be arranged through the tourist information office. This gives you several ways to explore with a guide: regular tours during the season, additional hikes in the nature park and group tours on request. Check the current tour schedules before your trip, as the local guided tours are seasonal.
Weaving to watch and take part in
The Großschönau Weaving School is a creative textile center offering activities related to weaving, natural fibers and culture, as well as concerts. In the open weaving workshop, visitors can watch people at work and handle the materials themselves. If you arrange it in advance, you can weave alongside them and take home a piece you have woven yourself. The weaving school therefore offers more than a glimpse of textile work: it also gives you the chance to take part. Courses and events vary; if you are interested in a workshop, check the current program in advance.
Nature topics at the Nature Park House
The Zittau Mountains Nature Park House features an interactive exhibition about nature, culture, habitats and the people who live in the nature park. The nature park garden complements it with a barefoot path, a viewpoint, a pond and stream, and play stations for families. The exhibition and garden offer different ways to explore the area: the exhibition focuses on the nature park’s themes, while the garden brings together different elements of its landscape. As access arrangements may change, it is a good idea to check them before your visit.
A distinct cultural focus within the broader destination of Görlitz
Within the broader destination of Görlitz, the historic old town offers a distinct cultural focus. It contains around 4,000 historic buildings and is one of the best-preserved historic ensembles in Central Europe. Lower Market Square, the historic heart of Görlitz, is surrounded by townhouses dating from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. After a city fire, Schönhof was rebuilt in the Renaissance style from 1526 onward. It is the main building of the Silesian Museum in Görlitz and is one of the oldest Renaissance buildings north of the Alps.
The Holy Sepulchre in Görlitz offers another way to explore architectural history: built between 1481 and 1504, it comprises the Chapel of the Sepulchre, the Chapel of the Anointing and the Chapel of Adam. It is considered a unique replica of Jerusalem’s holy sites and the oldest surviving structure of its kind north of the Alps. St. Peter’s Church is the largest hall church in Saxony; its Sun Organ was built by Eugenio Casparini toward the end of the 17th century and can imitate birdsong. These examples illustrate the breadth of Görlitz’s cultural heritage, from Renaissance architecture to a distinctive musical feature.
Discover more destinations: Waltersdorf, Hainewalde, Leutersdorf, Zittau, Kodersdorf, Jonsdorf, Ostritz, Bernstadt Auf Dem Eigen
Back to the broader travel guide: Görlitz.
