Oybin

Oybin
Coat of arms of Oybin Coat of arms
Oybin
Location of Oybin within Görlitz district
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	Saxony
District	Görlitz
Municipal assoc.	Olbersdorf
Government
• Mayor	Hans-Jürgen Goth (Die Linke)
Area
• Total	18.29 km2 (7.06 sq mi)
Population (2014-12-31)
• Total	1,457
• Density	80/km2 (210/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	02797
Dialling codes	035844
Vehicle registration	GR
Website	www.oybin.com

Oybin is a municipality in the district Görlitz, in Saxony, Germany, located very close to the border of the Czech Republic. 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. 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. Many bizarrely shaped geological rock formations can be found in the surroundings. The scenic narrow gauge Zittau–Oybin–Jonsdorf railway runs from Oybin to the neighboring community of Jonsdorf and the city of Zittau. The town has 3 districts, Oybin, Hain and Lückendorf.

• Rathaus Oybin.jpg

  Town hall of Oybin

• Kirche in Oybin.jpg

  Church in Oybin

• 

  Timber-frame house

• Umgebindehaus in Oybin 1.JPG

  The half-timbered "Almanka" Inn

Culture and Sights

• a baroque 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")

• Berg Oybin 1.JPG

  Castle ruin on mount Oybin

• Camera Obscura Oybin 1.JPG

  Camera obscura

• Zittauer Schmalspurbahn 1.JPG

  Narrow-gauge steam train

• 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 "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

• Berg Oybin.JPG

  Mount Oybin

• Kalchenstein.jpg

  The "Chalice rock" (Kelchstein)

• Handschuh von Oybin.JPG

  The "Mitten Rock" (Handschuh-Felsen)

• Töpfer2.jpg

  The "Broody Hen" (Brütende Henne) on Mount Töpfer

External links

• Oybin Castle and Monastery
• Mountain church Oybin
• Historical monk processions on Mount Oybin