Ostritz: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

Ostritz is home to St. Marienthal Abbey, a Baroque monastery complex with an abbey, monastery church, provost’s office and chapel; Cistercian monastic life continues there to this day. Those wishing to rent a holiday apartment in Ostritz can then continue their search for accommodation.

Culture

The monastery’s information room offers a presentation lasting around 30 minutes, providing insights into the history of the monastery, its buildings, the sisters and the Cistercian Order. It is available in German or English. An audio guide explains the history of the monastery, the sisters’ life today and the International Meeting Centre founded by the sisters.

At the monastery courtyard, the monastery market sells religious articles, handicrafts, books, souvenirs and baked goods. The biblical plant garden covers 1,030 square metres and contains more than 40 biblical plant species arranged as a themed garden. At Stationsberg/Kalvarienberg, there is a fully preserved outdoor Way of the Cross with 14 images.

Routes and Nature

St. Marienthal is a stop on the Oder–Neisse Cycle Route and offers bicycle rental on site for regional bike tours. The monastery is also a stop on the Via Sacra and the Zittau Way of St. James.

The Klosterwald-Neisse Tour is a 37-kilometre circular cycling route that begins at St. Marienthal in Ostritz. It passes through Ostritz’s historic town centre and to the local history museum in one of the town’s oldest houses. The route also offers a detour to St. Nicholas Church in Leuba, which was rebuilt in 1856.

Monastic Life and Culinary Delights

Marienthal offers guest rooms for solo travellers, families and groups; larger groups are accommodated in cooperation with the International Meeting Centre.

The monastery tavern serves Upper Lusatian cuisine and traditional monastery dishes, complemented by regional baked goods as well as seasonal herbs, fruit and vegetables. The monastery complex also includes a bakery. The monastery owns Germany’s easternmost vineyard, which can be climbed and offers views across Upper Lusatia.

More local pages: Neusalza-Spremberg, Seifhennersdorf, Rosenbach, Zittau, Niesky, Kodersdorf, Trebendorf, Mücka

For the overarching travel overview: Görlitz.