Görlitz, The Görliwood across boarder of Poland and 【Germany】

Görlitz, a town near Dresden, which happens to be close to where I live, is a small town with many film scenes. that was what I know before.

And after watching the movie “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, I noticed that many scenes looked familiar to me. Out of curiosity, I decided to do some research. To my surprise, I discovered that the movie had nothing connection to Budapest, Hungary at all! Most of the scenes were actually filmed in Görlitz, a town near Dresden, Germany, which happens to be close to where I live. Since it was such a coincidence, I decided to visit the filming locations. After visiting in person, I realized that there weren’t many recognizable movie scenes, but I did get to know this beautiful little town full of historic buildings.

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Görlitz

Görlitz is located in eastern Germany, near the Polish border. Due to its remote location and lack of strategic value during World War II, its historic buildings were not bombed and were thus preserved intact, ranging from Baroque to Renaissance architecture, without the need for post-war reconstruction.

The city is divided in the middle by a river, with one side belonging to Poland and the other side to Germany. The city itself is not large, with a population of about 50,000 people on the German side, and you can crossed the city on foot in about 20 minutes. This city remained relatively unknown until the success of “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” which brought it recognition. However, it’s not just this film that has used Görlitz as a filming location; many other movies have been shot there, such as “The Chronicles of Narnia,” “The Reader,” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” The city even has a film museum dedicated to showcasing its cinematic connections.

Transportation

You can take the RE1 or RB60 train from Dresden Hauptbahnhof, the main train station in Dresden, to Görlitz.
Trains run approximately once every hour, and the journey takes about one and a half hours. The ticket price is around €19.

Restaurant

Bierblume

Address: Neißstraße 8, 02826 Görlitz, Germany
The local brewery’s beer is fresh and refreshing. It is located near the pedestrian bridge connecting Poland and Germany. When passing by, you can take the opportunity to have a drink there.

Altstadt Brewery

Address: Wrocławska 1, 59-900 Zgorzelec, Poland
Since I am not a fan of German food and the other half of the city belongs to Poland, I can recommend a delicious Polish restaurant. This restaurant offers traditional Polish dishes such as chicken soup with noodles and sausage soup, both of which are very tasty.
Price: €
Taste:★★★★

Movie scenes of “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

The main setting of “The Grand Budapest Hotel” in Görlitz was filmed in an abandoned department store, but unfortunately, it wasn’t open for visitation when I went there.
The prison scenes were filmed in the nearby town Bautzen at the Bautzen Prison. This prison was used to hold political prisoners and is now open as a memorial museum, also offering special prison experience activities.

In Dresden, there are featured several scenes in the movie, including the historic Old Town area with the “Fürstenzug” (Procession of Princes) mural and the “Dresdner Zwinger” palace. There’s also a splendid dairy shop called “Dresdner Molkerei.” Both the Old Town and the Zwinger Palace are popular attractions in Dresden, and I have included them in my recommendations for Dresden sightseeing.

Dresdner Molkerei

The dairy shop located on the outskirts of the New Town area in Dresden. It features splendid tile decorations and is an important scene in “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” The shop is often crowded with people. They sell a variety of dairy products, ranging from cheese to candies. The packaging of the candies is also exquisite, making it a great choice for souvenirs or gifts.

Views of the town