Every design for Zgorzelec

What do you call a town whose old centre lies in another country? For Zgorzelec it is simply the view. Across the Lusatian Neisse stands the German town of Görlitz, and until 1945 the two were one place, with Zgorzelec as its eastern part.

Sankt Peter und Paul rises above the far bank, and the Rathaus, the Schönhof and the Kaisertrutz are a walk across the bridge away. That shared past runs deep: the town grew rich on the Via Regia, the old trade road, and belonged to the Six-City League of Upper Lusatia. On the Polish side are the Puszcza Zgorzelecka forest, the river gorge and a basketball team, Turów Zgorzelec, that once played in the Euroleague. It was here, too, that the Treaty of Zgorzelec was signed. German, Polish and Czech rulers have all left their mark, and the town still carries a Sorbian name, Zhorjelc, alongside the others.

If your evenings ended on the riverbank, watching the lights come on across the water, this map is for you. It is the shape of where you are from, both banks included.