Görlitz is first recorded back in 1071. The city grew at the intersection of Europe`s oldest and most important trade routes, one of them was the "Via Regia" which connected Kiev to Santiago de Compostela. The Via Regia is the oldest East-West trade route in Central Europe.

Görlitz owes its rise to a rich trade centre to this very special road. The Via Regia was not only a trade route but also a route on which artistic and cultural achievements travelled back and forth. Long before the idea of a unified Europe became popular, this trade route already conveyed a sense of what a continent without boundaries could be like.

More Information:
Via Regia, Major Cultural Route of the Council of Europe
Via Regia Begegnungsraum Sachsen