Cottbus is located at the southern end of the Spreewald (Spree Forest) about 70 miles south of Berlin and is also only 20 miles away from the Polish border. Cottbus and surrounding villages such as Tauer and Peitz are also home to the only Slavic race resident in Germany, the Sorbs (sometimes known as the Wends). This is why you will also see the name Chosebuz, as it is the Sorbish name, and further information about their culture and lifestyle can be found in the Wendisches Museum in the city centre. Many of the streets are signposted in both languages as well, but Sorbish, as  expected from a Slavic language, is more related to Polish and Czech than to German.

Few especially old buildings survive, but there are a few older churches and some remains of the old city wall, the best examples being the Spremburger Turm (Turm = tower in German) and the Münzturm, which was a mint (Münze = coin). The Münzturm can be found in the north-eastern corner of the city centre, whereas the Spremburger Turm is in the south. The theatre (Staatstheater Cottbus) has the distinction of being the only theatre building in Germany to be constructed in an Art Nouveau style and its performances enjoy a fine reputation. The major building is on Schillerplatz, just to the west of the square called the Altmarkt, which is the historical core of Cottbus.

The major attraction around here is Schloss Branitz (Branitz Castle), which underwent heavy restoration after the fall of the Berlin Wall and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1996. The castle itself (designed by Gottfried Semper, the same architect who designed the world-renowned Semperoper or Dresden Opera House) is a museum which devotes itself to the life of Fürst Hermann Pückler (1785-1871), the eccentric and enigmatic landscape gardener whose gardens are the major sight of this complex. These gardens were created over 40 years (1846 - 1888), indeed Pückler did not live to see them completely finished. The major claim to fame is the "Seepyramide"  (literally translated as lake pyramid) which is Pückler's final resting place, a large pyramid set in the middle of a lake. The gardens became much more well-known after the Bundesgartenschau, a national exhibition of gardens, which was held there in 1995.  

Cottbus is also a base (although Lübben and Lübbenau are closer, they are much smaller) for visiting the Spreewald, a unique and protected forest landscape which is criss-crossed with small rivers which feed the River Spree. The Sorbs are especially prevalent here, but their "capital", as it were, is the Saxon city of Bautzen (known as Budyssin in Sorbish). 

Cottbus is easily reached by train and it is simple to travel to other cities like Dresdenor Leipzig. Travelling from Berlin or Dresden, expect a journey to last approximately two hours, depending from which station you travel from and the type of train you use.   

 

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