Tourist Attractions in Bautzen

The Alte Wasserkunst, designed by W. Röhrscheidt the Elder (1588), served both for the town's protection and for water supply. The very emblem of Bautzen, it now houses a Museum of Technology.

The Bautzen Town Hall (1729-32) is a three-story Baroque building incorporating some Gothic work.

Features of interest in Bischofswerda, 18km/11mi southwest of Bautzen, are the neo-classical Town Hall (1818), with an external staircase; St Mary's Church (originally Gothic, rebuilt in neo-classical style 1815-16), now known as the Christuskirche; and numerous neo-classical burghers' houses. The Begräbniskirche (Late Renaissance, 1650), now known as the Kreuzkirche, has an over-lifesize sandstone crucifix (c. 1535) and a pulpit with figural reliefs.

The Bautzen streets An der Petrikirche and Schlos-strasse, with the old House of the Estates (Ständehaus; 1668) and the Castle Pharmacy (Schlossapotheke; 1699), lead into the Burgstadt, the oldest part of the town. The Burgstadt grew around the castle in Bautzen's early days in an entirely unregulated way - unlike the planned layout around the Hauptmarkt.

The Bautzen Domstift is a horseshoe-shaped Baroque building (1683) with the coat of arms of the cathedral chapter over the main entrance (1755).

The Gewandhaus in Bautzen's Hauptmarkt is in neo-Renaissance style (1882-83), with a Ratskeller of 1472.

The Fleischmarkt in Bautzen is dominated by the Cathedral and has a monument to Elector Johann Georg I of Saxony (1865). In the market there is also the chapterhouse of the Cathedral.

At Grosswelka, 5km/3mi north of Bautzen, is the "Urzoo" (Primeval Zoo), with life-size models of numerous species of dinosaur.

Bautzen's traditional center is the Hauptmarkt, with seven streets and lanes opening off it. On the east and west sides of the square are a number of patrician houses (Nos. 6, 7, 8).

There are a number of fine burghers' houses in Bautzen's Innere Lauenstrasse (Nos. 2, 6, 8, 10).

The Lauenturm (1400-03) in Bautzen was built with a Baroque top and lantern of 1739.

The Mönchskirche (c. 1300; destroyed by fire 1598) in Bautzen's Burgstadt is all that remains of the monastery which once stood here.

The Museum showcases the history of Bautzen (Stadtmuseum).

From Mönchswalder Berg in Wilthen there are magnificent views of the surrounding countryside.

Neukirch, 15km/9mi southwest of Bautzen, has a Pottery and Regional Museum.

The Neue Wasserkunst in Bautzen was designed by W. Röhrscheidt the Younger (1606-10).

The Friedensbrücke in Bautzen was built during 1908-09 and rebuilt between 1946 and 1949.

Rammenau, 4km/2.5mi northwest of Bischofswerda (near Bautzen) is the birthplace of the great German philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762-1814) and has one of the finest Baroque palaces in Saxony (by J. C. Knöffel, 1721-35; occasional concerts), with a Fichte Memorial Room.

There are numbers of handsome burghers' houses in Reichenstrasse (Nos. 4, 5, 12).

The Bautzen Reichenturm is a tower leaning 1.44 m/4ft. 9 in. off the vertical (1490-92) and has a Baroque top and lantern (added in 1715-18). On it is a monument to Emperor Rudolph II (1577).

Schirgiswalde (near Bautzen) is the "Pearl of Upper Lusatia", and a popular holiday resort.

The Baroque parish church (1739-41) of Schirgiswalde, 15km/9mi south of Bautzen, has a richly decorated interior.

In Schirgiswalde, near Bautzen, the Town Hall (1818) is built in the neo-classical style.

The Schülerturm in Bautzen dates from before 1515.

The Nikolaikirche (1444) in Bautzen is in ruins as a result of two bombardments during the Thirty Years War (1620 and 1634).

The Nikolaiturm in Bautzen was built some time before 1522.

The Gerberbastei ( 1503) in Bautzen is now a youth hostel.

The Valtenberg (588 m/1,929ft) in Neukirch, near Bautzen, is the highest peak in the Lusatian uplands.

In Wilthen, 10km/6mi south of Bautzen, are examples of an old Lusatian house type, the (umgebindehaus), with external posts and beams supporting the upper story and roof.