Bautzen

While an eastern Germanic settlement existed in the 3rd century AD and archaeology finds habitation back to the late Stone Age, the oldest written records date from 1002, when the Sorbian fortress of "Budusin" was mentioned as the centre of Upper Lusatia. One of the battlefields of the Napoleonic War Battle of Bautzen in 1813 and the World War II Battle of Bautzen, the town has at various times been part of Poland, Bohemia, Hungary, Saxony, Germany or East Germany.

Bautzen was infamous throughout East Germany for its penitentiaries. During World War II, a subcamp of the Groß-Rosen concentration camp operated in Bautzen; in Cold War Europe, Bautzen I was an official prison (which remains operational today) while the secret Bautzen II imprisoned prisoners of conscience. Since 1993, Bautzen II has served as a memorial.

Bautzen's medieval town centre is defended by a city wall on the steep embankment to the river Spree. St. Peter's Cathedral is Eastern Germany's only historic interdenominational church edifice; the Hexenhaus (Witch's House, built 1604) is the oldest preserved residential building. The Reichenturm is one of the steepest leaning towers north of the Alps to still be passable. The Old Waterworks (built 1558), an architectural monument and museum, is one of the oldest preserved waterworks in central Europe. Other sites of interest include Ortenburg Castle and four museums including the Stadtmuseum Bautzen ("Bautzen city Museum") and the Sorbisches Museum ("Sorbian Museum", Sorbian: Serbski muzej).

By train:

1 Bautzen railway station. The main station is within walking distance of the city centre and easily accessible by bus or car. Regular trains leave for Dresden and Görlitz.

By car:

Bautzen can be reached without problems by car from the rest of Germany. It is connected with the German highway system via motorway A4. The best way to get there is from Dresden.

By bus:

Flixbus offers service to Berlin.

By plane:

Besides flying into the close-by major airports of Dresden (DRS IATA), Berlin (BER IATA) or Prague (PRG IATA) there is also a small general aviation airfield

2 Flugplatz Bautzen.