Lusatian dialects in the context of "East Central German"

Görlitz ([ˈɡœʁlɪts] ; Lower Sorbian: Zgórjelc; Upper Sorbian: Zhorjelc [ˈzhɔʁʲɛlts] ; Polish: Zgorzelec [zɡɔˈʐɛ.lɛt͡s] ; Czech: Zhořelec [ˈzɦor̝ɛlɛt͡s]; East Lusatian: Gerlz, Gerltz, Gerltsch) is a town in the 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 Cottbus, and the largest town in the German part of the region of Silesia. Görlitz is the easternmost town in Germany and lies opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was the eastern part of Görlitz until 1945. The town has approximately 56,000 inhabitants, which make Görlitz the sixth-largest town in Saxony. It is the seat of the district of Görlitz. Together with Zgorzelec it forms the Euro City of Görlitz/Zgorzelec, which has a combined population of around 86,000.

Görlitz, first mentioned in 1071, developed as a key trading town on the Via Regia route linking Western and Eastern Europe. In the Late Middle Ages, it prospered through the cloth trade and became a member of the Lusatian League, enjoying considerable autonomy. The town came under Bohemian, Hungarian, Austrian and Saxon rule before becoming part of Prussia in 1815 after the Congress of Vienna. During World War II, Görlitz was spared major destruction, but the new Oder–Neisse line in 1945 divided it from its eastern districts, which became Zgorzelec in Poland. In the GDR era, Görlitz was a border town with limited cross-border contact, but after German reunification and Poland’s EU accession, cooperation with Zgorzelec increased. Today, Görlitz is renowned for its well-preserved historic architecture and frequent use as a film location.

Herrnhut (German: [ˈhɛʁnhuːt] ; Upper Sorbian: Ochranow; Czech: Ochranov; Upper Lusatian: Harrnhutt, Harrnutt) is a town of around 6,000 inhabitants in Upper Lusatia, in the district of Görlitz, in eastern Saxony, Germany. The town is mainly known as the place of origin of the community of the Moravian Church (established by Nicolas Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf in 1722), and of the Moravian Stars (Herrnhuter Sterne).

In 2016, the town was awarded the honorary title European City of the Reformation by the Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe, and in 2024, Herrnhut was inscribed on the World Heritage List as part of the serial site "Moravian Church Settlements" (Siedungen der Herrnhuter Brüdergemeinde) alongside Christiansfeld (Denmark), Bethlehem (USA) and Gracehill (Northern Ireland). Herrnhut lies between the larger towns of Löbau and Zittau in the hilly foreland of the Zittau Mountains on the Petersbach, the longest headstream of the Pließnitz, a tributary of the Lusatian Neisse.

Zittau (German: [ˈtsɪtaʊ] ; Upper Sorbian: Žitawa [ˈʒitawa] ; Lower Sorbian: Žytawa [ˈʒɨtawa]; Polish: Żytawa [ˈʐɨtava] ; Czech: Žitava; Upper Lusatian dialect: Sitte) is the southeasternmost city in the German state of Saxony, and belongs to the district of Görlitz, Germany's easternmost district.

Zittau is located in Upper Lusatia, the southern part of Lusatia, on the Mandau and Lusatian Neisse rivers, in the foreland of the Zittau Mountains. The city has a population of around 25,000 and is located directly on the western edge of the Turów Coal Mine, one of the largest artificial holes visible from space, on the other side of the Lusatian Neisse.The Großes Zittauer Fastentuch (Great Zittau Lenten Cloth) is, along with the Bayeux Tapestry, one of the most impressive textile works in Western tradition. It is the third-largest existing Lenten veil. It was made in Zittau in 1472 and is now exhibited in the secularized Kirche zum Heiligen Kreuz, that belongs to the Zittau Municipal Museums, where it is kept in the largest museum display case in the world.