For the love of Heaven, as if German is not hard enough to speak, let’s try adding Sorbian into the mix. No disrespect to my Sorbian speaking friends in the Upper Lusatian town of Wittichenau (they call it Kulow in Sorbian), it’s just difficult to keep it all straight.
But, ah, thankfully it was a local hometown boy, Georg August Swotlick (whose Sorbian name was Jurij Hawštyn Swětlik) who wrote the first Sorbian dictionary to help back in the 17th century. He also translated the Bible into Sorbian — busy guy that he was. ;-)
It won’t be out of the ordinary to flip-flop between German and Sorbian in this bilingual town of a dozen villages, just south of Hoyerswerda. Kind of interesting that Czech isn’t spoken more around here as this part of Upper Lusatia once belonged to the Kingdom of Bohemia.
Too bad there isn’t a whole lot more sightseeing.
Wait… I take that back. Just because the place isn’t overrun with castles and medieval churches, doesn’t mean there isn’t any sightseeing.
A simple walk or hike along the Schwarze Elster River is just what the doctor ordered to take away the daily stresses of life. Follow along the water to find some of Wittichenau’s mills, a few of which have been around for centuries.
Hiking around the Dubringer Moor is fantastic to do, too. You’ll find it in the village of Saalau (its Sorbian name is Salow), a village that isn’t even one square kilometer. Come see its church, it’s been around for centuries — and its predecessor is more than 500 years old.
Wittichenau (Kulow) isn’t just two languages and pretty countryside. Oh no, it’s fun for a festival or two — especially when Carnival during the darkest days of winter takes place. Come Spring, when the guys in town get a little competition going for the MayPole tossing, while the rest of town can have fun with all the eating and drinking going on.
Yikes, I forgot to find out the Sorbian word for happy — and that’s exactly what Wittichenau makes me. ;-)
