Oybin ( hsb, Ojbin, ) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the Görlitz district, in

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, Germany, located very close to the border of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. Following the defeat of the Protestant armies by the Habsburgs in the

Battle of the White Mountain ), near Prague, Bohemian Confederation(present-day Czech Republic) , coordinates = , territory = , result = Imperial-Spanish victory , status = , combatants_header = , combatant1 = Catholic L ...

in 1620, many Protestant Czechs found refuge across the border in the hills of

Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia (german: Oberlausitz ; hsb, Hornja Łužica ; dsb, Górna Łužyca; szl, Gōrnŏ Łużyca; pl, Łużyce Górne or ''Milsko''; cz, Horní Lužice) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the ...

. It is a "''Kurort''", a resort or spa certified by the state, where people go for rest and recuperation. It is most famous for its mountain of the same name, an exposed natural sandstone dome that towers above the town. The ruins of a medieval monastery lend a wild romantic beauty to it and it was a favorite subject of 19th-century Romantic painters like

Caspar David Friedrich Caspar David Friedrich (5 September 1774 – 7 May 1840) was a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscape ...

. Many bizarrely shaped geological rock formations can be found in the surroundings. The scenic narrow gauge Zittau–Kurort Oybin/Kurort Jonsdorf railway runs from Oybin to Bertsdorf, from there to the neighboring municipality of

Jonsdorf The community of Jonsdorf is located in the south of the Kreis Görlitz in the southeast of the German federal state of Saxony. It is embedded into a valley of the Zittau Mountains, part of the Lusatian Mountains. History In 1539 Jonsdorf was fir ...

and the town of

Zittau Zittau ( hsb, Žitawa, dsb, Žytawa, pl, Żytawa, cs, Žitava, :de:Oberlausitzer Mundart, Upper Lusatian Dialect: ''Sitte''; from Slavic languages, Slavic "''rye''" (Upper Sorbian and Czech: ''žito'', Lower Sorbian: ''žyto'', Polish: ''żyto' ...

. Oybin municipality has 3 districts: Oybin, Hain and Lückendorf. File:Kirche in Oybin.jpg, Church in Oybin File:Umgebindehaus in Oybin 2.JPG, Timber-frame house File:Umgebindehaus in Oybin 1.JPG, The half-timbered "Almanka" Inn

Culture and Sights

* a

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

mountain church built in 1734 * Periodic historical monk processions lit by torchlight * Oybin railway station with small museum about the history of the Zittau Narrow Gauge Railway * Teufelsmühle ("Devil's Mill") File:Berg Oybin 1.JPG, Castle ruins on mount Oybin File:Camera Obscura Oybin 1.JPG,

Camera obscura A camera obscura (; ) is a darkened room with a aperture, small hole or lens at one side through which an image is 3D projection, projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole. ''Camera obscura'' can also refer to analogous constructions su ...

File:Zittauer Schmalspurbahn 1.JPG, Narrow-gauge steam train File:Berg oybin.JPG, Mount Oybin with restaurant and castle ruins

Surroundings and Landmarks

* Rosensteine ''(Rose Stones)'' with Kelchstein ''(Chalice Rock)'', a red mushroom rock * The Große Felsengasse ''(Large Canyon Alley)'' with Muschelsaal ''(Shell Hall)'' and the

via ferrata A via ferrata (Italian for "iron path", plural ''vie ferrate'' or in English ''via ferratas'') is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other locations. The term "via ferrata" is used in most countries and languages except n ...

"Alpiner Grat" * Mount Scharfenstein ''(Sharp Stone)'' * Mount Hochwald ''(Highwood)'' with look-out tower and 2

mountain hut A mountain hut is a building located high in the mountains, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineers, climbers and hikers. Mountain huts are usually operated by an Alpine Club or some organization d ...

s * Mount Töpfer ''(Potter)'' with mountain hut * Ameisenberg ''(Anthill rock)'' * Mount Oybin File:Berg Oybin.JPG, Mount Oybin File:Kalchenstein.jpg, The "Chalice rock" ''(Kelchstein)'' File:Handschuh von Oybin.JPG, The "Mitten Rock" ''(Handschuh-Felsen)'' File:Töpfer2.jpg, The "Broody Hen" ''(Brütende Henne)'' on Mount Töpfer

References

External links

Oybin Castle and MonasteryMountain church OybinHistorical monk processions on Mount Oybin
{{Authority control Zittau Mountains Populated places in Görlitz (district)