Country Germany District Görlitz Elevation 389 m (1,276 ft) Population 1,549 (31 Dec 2008) | State Saxony Municipal assoc. Olbersdorf Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Local time Wednesday 2:48 AM | |
Weather 7°C, Wind SW at 10 km/h, 72% Humidity Points of interest Töpfer, Scharfenstein, Oybin, Castle and monaster, Jonsberg | ||
Oybin is a municipality in the district Görlitz, in Saxony, Germany, located very close to the border of the Czech Republic. Following the defeat of the Protestant armies by the Habsburgs in the Battle of the White Mountain in 1620, many Protestant Czechs found refuge across the border in the hills of Upper Lusatia. It is a "Kurort", a resort or spa certified by the state, where people go for rest and recuperation. It is most famous for its mountain of the same name, an exposed natural sandstone dome that towers above the town. The ruins of a medieval monastery lend a wild romantic beauty to it and it was a favorite subject of 19th century Romantic painters like Caspar David Friedrich. Many bizarrely shaped geological rock formations can be found in the surroundings. The scenic narrow gauge Zittau–Oybin–Jonsdorf railway runs from Oybin to the neighboring community of Jonsdorf and the city of Zittau. The town has 3 districts, Oybin, Hain and Lückendorf.