Oybin (, ) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the Görlitz district, in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, in eastern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, located very close to the border of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It is a "''Kurort''", a resort or spa certified by the state, where people go for rest and recuperation. It is most famous for its mountain of the same name, an exposed natural sandstone dome that towers above the town. The ruins of a medieval monastery lend a wild romantic beauty to it and it was a favorite subject of 19th-century Romantic painters like

Caspar David Friedrich Caspar David Friedrich (; 5 September 1774 – 7 May 1840) was a German Romanticism, German Romantic Landscape painting, landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation, whose often symbolic, and anti ...

. Many bizarrely shaped geological rock formations can be found in the surroundings. The scenic narrow gauge Zittau–Kurort Oybin/Kurort Jonsdorf railway runs from Oybin to Bertsdorf, from there to the neighboring municipality of Jonsdorf and the town of

Zittau Zittau (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, Upper Lusatian dialect: ''Sitte''; ) is the southeasternmost city in the Germany, German state of Saxony, and belongs to the Görlitz (district), district of Görlitz, Germany's easternmost Districts of Germ ...

. Oybin municipality has 3 districts: Oybin, Hain and Lückendorf.

History

In 1319 it passed to the Duchy of Jawor, the southwesternmost duchy of fragmented Piast-ruled Poland, and later on it was also ruled by Bohemian, Hungarian, Saxon and Polish monarchs. Following the defeat of the Protestant armies by the Habsburgs in the Battle of the White Mountain in 1620, many Protestant Czechs found refuge across the border in the hills of

Upper Lusatia Upper Lusatia (, ; , ; ; or ''Milsko''; ) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the north, it makes up the region of Lusatia, named after the Polabian Slavs, Slavic ''Lusici'' tribe. Both parts of Lusatia a ...

Culture and sights

* a

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

mountain church built in 1734 * Periodic historical monk processions lit by torchlight * Oybin railway station with small museum about the history of the Zittau Narrow Gauge Railway * Teufelsmühle ("Devil's Mill") File:Kirche in Oybin.jpg, Church in Oybin File:Umgebindehaus in Oybin 2.JPG, Timber-frame house File:Umgebindehaus in Oybin 1.JPG, The half-timbered "Almanka" Inn File:Berg Oybin 1.JPG, Castle ruins on mount Oybin File:Camera Obscura Oybin 1.JPG,

Camera obscura A camera obscura (; ) is the natural phenomenon in which the rays of light passing through a aperture, small hole into a dark space form an image where they strike a surface, resulting in an inverted (upside down) and reversed (left to right) ...

File:Zittauer Schmalspurbahn 1.JPG, Narrow-gauge steam train File:Berg oybin.JPG, Mount Oybin with restaurant and castle ruins

Surroundings and landmarks

* Rosensteine ''(Rose Stones)'' with Kelchstein ''(Chalice Rock)'', a red mushroom rock * The Große Felsengasse ''(Large Canyon Alley)'' with Muschelsaal ''(Shell Hall)'' and the

via ferrata A via ferrata (Italian language, Italian for "iron path", plural ''vie ferrate'' or in English ''via ferratas'') is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other Alpine locations. The protection includes steel fixtures such as ...

"Alpiner Grat" * Mount Scharfenstein ''(Sharp Stone)'' * Mount Hochwald ''(Highwood)'' with look-out tower and 2 mountain huts * Mount Töpfer ''(Potter)'' with mountain hut * Ameisenberg ''(Anthill rock)'' * Mount Oybin File:Berg Oybin.JPG, Mount Oybin File:Kalchenstein.jpg, The "Chalice rock" ''(Kelchstein)'' File:Handschuh von Oybin.JPG, The "Mitten Rock" ''(Handschuh-Felsen)'' File:Töpfer2.jpg, The "Broody Hen" ''(Brütende Henne)'' on Mount Töpfer

Notable people

* Chval of Lipá (born and died in the 13th century), Czech nobleman from the Ronovci family and the founder of the family of the . * Čeněk of Oybin (), Czech nobleman, landowner, and founder of the .

References

External links

Oybin Castle and MonasteryMountain church OybinHistorical monk processions on Mount Oybin
{{Authority control Zittau Mountains Populated places in Görlitz (district)