Wow, the town of Lohsa is big. I mean, like 135 square miles big. Ok, Ok, the (deep breath) Biosphärenreservat Oberlausitzer Heide- und Teichlandschaft takes up a good portion of that — but who’s splitting hairs.
And who’s splitting hairs about Germans’ affection for names that are way too long for the rest of the world… ;-)
Either way, the truly remarkable thing about Lohsa’s Biosphere is all the wildlife you’ll find. You’ll find everything from wolves to otters, right down to rare birds in this nature area.
Also in the Biosphere region is the village of Dreiwitz, or Drěwcy as its Sorbian name is known. It’s all about the Sorbian culture here, and a good place to learn about it.
FYI, Lohsa’s Sorbian name is Łaz, in case you were wondering.
What else is there to know about Lohsa? For starters, many of its villages aren’t very populated. Even Groß Särchen (or, Wulke Ždźary) has less than 1200 residents, and that’s one of it biggest hamlets.
While you’re here, make sure you see the Krabat Statue, an important figure in Sorbian culture.
This is a nice place if you’d like to see a castle. You just need to call ahead to see if the 14th century medieval Mortka Castle is open to the public.
And it’s a good museum town, too. The Zejler Smoler House has permanent exhibits on Sorbian culture and information.
Were you aware that Lohsa was the site of a battle between Napoleon’s troops against Prussia? Yeah, me either.
I know that Lohsa has a super-cool labyrinth to conquer. And I know that Lohsa has a Geological Trail that fits in nicely with the Upper Lusatian countryside. Plus, there are other little bits and bobs of stuff to see and do.
Look for the stone crosses in the cemetery wall, that’s German engineering for you. And maybe you’ll get lucky and find some dinosaur bones — hey, it happened before. The Findlingspark Nochten can explain it much better than I ever could.
Some of you might rather party at one of Lohsa’s cultural events. Let’s see… there’s an annual Beach Volleyball Tournament, some Pentecostal events, and an annual Autumn Market held in September.
Lohsa’s big on size, big on Sorbian culture, big on nature, and big on sightseeing. Forget what I said about good things come in small packages — in this case, bigger is definitely better. ;-)
