Großschönau (, ; ) is a municipality in the district

Görlitz Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...

, in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

located in the

cross-border region A cross-border region is a territorial entity that is made of several local or regional authorities that are co-located yet belong to different nation states. Cross-border regions exist to take advantage of geographical conditions to strengthen th ...

with the

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

. It used to be a famous

Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia (, ; , ; ; or ''Milsko''; ) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the north, it makes up the region of Lusatia, named after the Polabian Slavs, Slavic ''Lusici'' tribe. Both parts of Lusatia a ...

n center of

Damask Damask (; ) is a woven, Reversible garment, reversible patterned Textile, fabric. Damasks are woven by periodically reversing the action of the warp and weft threads. The pattern is most commonly created with a warp-faced satin weave and the gro ...

fabric production until the end of the 1980s. Since then it has turned into an area of tourism. In Großschönau is the historical sylvan lido Trixi Park, a spa which was expanded with indoor swimming pools, a sauna, camping ground and holiday flats. The town is a child-friendly starting point for hikers and cyclists alike who want to explore both sides of the Czech-German border area with its relatively attractive price level. Mount Lausche (793 m) is situated in the community of Waltersdorf and marks the highest peak of the

Lusatian Mountains The Lusatian Mountains (; ; ) are a mountain range of the Western Sudetes on the southeastern border of Germany with the Czech Republic. They are a continuation of the Ore Mountains range west of the Elbe valley. The mountains of the northern, G ...

Transport

A road connects German Großschönau with its Czech neighboring city of

Varnsdorf Varnsdorf (; ) is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It lies on the border with Germany. Administrative division Varnsdorf consists of three municipal parts (in brackets population accordi ...

. The railway station of Grossschönau offers tri-national connections to Poland, the

and

as the existing track runs through all three countries of the

Euroregion In European politics, the term Euroregion usually refers to a transnational co-operation structure between two (or more) contiguous territories located in different European countries. Euroregions represent a specific type of cross-border regio ...

. As all countries are members of the

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

, all border checkpoints have been eliminated.

Residents development

Residents of note

Johann Eleazar Zeissig Johann Eleazar Zeissig, also known as Schenau (7 November 1737 – 23 August 1806), was a German genre, portrait and porcelain painter, and engraver; director of the Royal Academy of Arts in Dresden. Life Schenau was born in 1737, the son of ...

, known as Schenau (17371806), German artist

Transport

Residents development

Residents of note

References

Further reading