I don’t care if you call it Großschönau, Wulki Šunow, or Velký Šenov — it all comes out to be the same thing — a town on the German/Czech Republic border (and really close to Poland) that’s quite famous for its damask.
Wulki Šunow, by the way, is Upper Sorbian for Großschönau; while Velký Šenov is its Czech name.
Ha, don’t say you and I didn’t learn something new today. ;-)
Want to know what else I learned today? I learned that Großschönau has almost 700 half-timbered houses, making it the only town in Upper Lusatia with so many.
Funny, you’d think with as many as they have at least one would be Großschönau’s Town Hall, though that honor falls to a very pretty Classical design building from the 1820s.
Großschönau’s Evangelical Lutheran Church is a place to see, too. Don’t worry about it being crowed, this early 18th century church can hold some 2,000 people. It might be why it’s said to be the largest of its kind in Saxony.
Ohh, another highlight for Großschönau…
You’ll find no less than three museums to visit here in town. The most famous one being the German damask and Frottiermuseum Großschönau, which isn’t just a Local History Museum — but one that details the importance of the textile industry to the town.
Guys, I know you don’t care about that kind of stuff. So, it’s off to the Motorcycle veterans and Technology Museum Großschönau. Everyone’s bound to love the Folklore and Walter Mill Museum Village, though.
Just as I’m sure everyone will love hiking (or biking) through the nearby Zitterau Mountains. In fact, the entire area around Großschönau is criss-crossed by bike trails throughout the multi-country, multi-state region.
Großschönau is lucky enough to have everything anyone and everyone can enjoy — no matter what its name is, or what you call it. Come to think of it, I’ll call it “a gosh darn good time.”
