Markersdorf reveals its story through its local history: Take a walk past farmsteads and restored half-timbered buildings to encounter the community’s historical narrative. There is also a village museum and memorial sites with various historical connections. Rural life, views of the town and specific historical events thus offer different ways to explore the area.
Local history explored in different ways
The Silesian-Upper Lusatian Village Museum is housed in a four-sided farmstead. Its permanent and special exhibitions showcase rural life, and it offers activity days as well as activities for children and adults. This makes the museum experience different from a walk through the town: the focus here is on exhibitions and programs, while the walk takes in farmsteads and restored half-timbered buildings. Individual exhibitions and activities may vary, so check what is currently scheduled before your visit.
The local memorial sites also highlight different aspects of history. St. Michael’s Church is associated with the year 1455. St. Barbara’s Chapel was destroyed during the Hussite Wars. A monument commemorates Marshal Duroc, a close confidant of Napoleon, who died here in 1813. Together, these connections do not form a single narrative, but lead from a church building to the memory of a war and then to a figure from the Napoleonic era.
When planning your visit, you can decide whether you are most interested in the town’s architecture, exhibitions on rural life or particular historical sites. The walks, museum and memorial sites each offer a different perspective on Markersdorf’s local history.
Further perspectives in the wider destination of Görlitz
In the wider destination of Görlitz, the focus is on a historic urban ensemble: The Old Town encompasses around 4,000 listed buildings and is one of the best-preserved historic ensembles in Central Europe. After a city fire, Schönhof was rebuilt in the Renaissance style from 1526 onward. Today, it is the main building of the Silesian Museum in Görlitz and is one of the oldest Renaissance buildings north of the Alps. St. Peter’s Church, meanwhile, is Saxony’s largest hall church and a masterpiece of Gothic architecture.
Görlitz also has a rich musical and religious history. The Sonnenorgel in St. Peter’s Church was built by Eugenio Casparini toward the end of the 17th century and can imitate bird calls. The Holy Sepulchre was built between 1481 and 1504 and comprises the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, the Chapel of the Anointing and the Adam Chapel. It is a unique replica of the holy sites of Jerusalem and the oldest surviving structure of its kind north of the Alps.
For natural history, the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Görlitz, with its vivarium, offers a different focus: Around 70 animal species are presented in twelve elaborately designed habitat tanks covering 100 m². A live animal feeding demonstration takes place in the live animal area on the first Thursday of each month at 4 p.m.; admission is included with the museum ticket. Check the current calendar before your visit.
Those who would rather explore Görlitz’s film locations independently can follow the “Walk of Görliwood®” from one filming location to another using the free SmartGuide app; check that the app is available before you travel. In the summer months, you can also take boat trips and paddle excursions on the Neisse River through the Neisse Valley. These seasonal options differ considerably from the town and architectural history described as available year-round; check current offerings and times before planning.
Discover more destinations: Beiersdorf, Großhennersdorf, Schönau-Berzdorf Auf Dem Eigen, Weißwasser/Oberlausitz, Rosenbach, Rietschen, Hainewalde, Ebersbach-Neugersdorf.
Return to the overview of the wider destination: Görlitz.
