Attractions and Places To See around Pieńsk - Top 20

Since February 28, 2009, three pairs of passenger trains have once again run between Dresden and Wrocław over the viaduct. However, electric train service has not resumed since the viaduct's reconstruction, as the Soviet Union dismantled the overhead wire west and east of the Neisse after the war in the autumn of 1945. In 2011, it was announced in the local press that the Polish Railway, which owns the viaduct, planned to renovate the railway bridge by 2013 and simultaneously prepare for electrification. Construction work was completed at the end of 2013. Renovation and maintenance work was carried out on the tracks and substructure. The permitted speed was increased from 30 to 80 kilometers per hour. Heavy freight trains can now also cross the viaduct. The PKP had the parapet removed and replaced with a new one. Furthermore, new sand traps for drainage were installed, lights were installed, and new control systems for rail traffic were installed. Check Wikipedia

The Whispering Arch at Untermarkt 22 in Görlitz is a magnificent late Gothic portal decorated with elaborate details. Construction of the portal began in 1500, followed by extensions in 1525 and 1726. The Whispering Arch's keel-arch archivolt transmits sound waves so that even quiet words can be heard from one end to the other. Today, the Whispering Arch is one of the city's most visited sights.

The town hall staircase is a special work of art and testifies to good stonemasonry.

The historic medieval Untermarkt in Görlitz is the centre of Görlitz's old town and is one of the most beautiful squares in the city. Here, in the middle of a unique ensemble of historic buildings, you will find the Görlitz town hall, the historic arches of the hall houses and the famous whispering arch.

The town hall stairs were probably built in 1537 by Wendel Roskopf. They are a masterpiece of the early Renaissance. The stairs lead to the court wing. The Annunciation pulpit, which is located to the side of the stairs, was also built at the same time. The sculptor Andreas Walther I decorated the stairs with motifs that were unusual for the time. The Justitia statue was added in 1591. Above the stairs on the right is the Corvinus coat of arms. https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rathaus_G%C3%B6rlitz

There is a head on the daytime clock. According to legend, this head represents the city guard who slept through the city fire and who, according to legend, was walled up alive in the tower. The color of the eyes is said to reflect the city fire and the open mouth the horror of the city fire. In the upper window lies the Bohemian lion, which is said to have roared at midnight to scare away thieves. It didn't roar for a long time because the mechanism was defective. It has been replaced and during tours of the tower the guide operates the mechanism and you can hear the lion. https://vonortzuort.reisen/deutschland/sachsen/goerlitz/rathausturm/

The original name of this square, first mentioned in 1305, is simply Market. In 1403 the name Niedermarkt appears in the archives. The name Ring, which existed between 1340 and around 1600, probably comes from Silesian. The part north of the Zeile separating the square was also temporarily called the Alter Markt, Fischmarkt or Herringsmarkt. The country people selling goods mainly stood in the northern part of the square, while the artisans in the southern part. It was not until 1864 that the weekly market moved to Elisabethstrasse. The block of houses in the middle of the square is called Zeile or Mittelzeil. A passageway from east to west led through this block of houses; this no longer exists today. This passageway provided access to the southern grocers. Later, the houses were opened to the south side of the square, because the rich merchants (also spice and silk merchants) had their stalls on the south side.

History Planning The construction of the railway line through the pine forests of the Görlitz Heath was based on a compromise that envisaged connecting Görlitz to the main line of the Lower Silesian-Marxian Railway Company (NME). The main route of the NME ran from Berlin via Frankfurt (Oder) and Liegnitz to Breslau, thus bypassing Upper Lusatia, which had been Prussian since 1815. The plans envisaged the branch line to Görlitz starting from a branch line of the NME in Kohlfurt. A connection to the Saxon-Silesian Railway was to be created in Görlitz. However, this would require crossing the Neisse. The options for the crossing were either an elongated flood bridge on the flatter plains north of the city or a bridge over the narrower but deeper Neisse valley. It was decided to cross the deep Neisse valley, as it was essential to reach the city, a level crossing to the Saxon-Silesian railways.