The place Cottbus

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Princely parks, medieval city walls and the most beautiful Art Nouveau theatre in Europe characterise the cityscape of Cottbus.

Cottbus is Brandenburg's second largest city after Potsdam and is located on the south-eastern edge of the Spreewald. It is only a few minutes by car or train to the historic city centre. Like many places in the Spreewald, Cottbus is also marked by Sorbian-Wendish history, which characterises the townscape and the everyday lives of the people.

In 2017, the city of Cottbus was one of TUI Deutschland GmbH's top five city break destinations. This puts Cottbus in the same breath as Málaga, Porto, Prague and Edinburgh. The decisive factor for this extremely positive development is the high guest growth of more than 50 per cent. Particularly popular with Cottbus guests are, for example, excursions to the Spreewald, guided tours through the city and Branitzer Park, cycling tours along the well-developed routes and visits to the city's event highlights. These include annual highlights such as the film festival and the Christmas market.

Sights in Cottbus

In Cottbus, an extensive city walk through the historic old town with its medieval gates, towers and baroque town houses is recommended. While there, visitors should keep an eye out for the famous Cottbus post coachman. He blows the post horn to perfection, looks very handsome in his smart uniform, has his own monument in his lifetime and can recite this saying flawlessly: "The Cottbus post coachman cleans the Cottbus post coach box." If you don't want to explore the old town on your own, you can join a guided tour of the town including an architectural tour of the Cottbus State Theatre almost every Sunday at 10.00 am. The theatre is actively performed and is considered the most beautiful art nouveau theatre in Europe.

The historic park railway runs from the city centre to the Cottbus parks consisting of Branitzer Park, the zoo and Spreeauenpark. Branitz Park with its castle, the Moon Mountains, water pyramids and the Wolf Gorge was commissioned by Prince Pückler and is home to his final resting place. Other artistically designed park landscapes such as the Pückler Park in Bad Muskau or the East German Rose Garden in Forst are only a few kilometres from Cottbus.

Far more than a bad-weather option are the museums of the city of Cottbus. Whether contemporary art (DKW Art Museum), aviation history of Lusatia (Cottbus Airfield Museum) or an impressive collection of pharmacy history (Brandenburg Pharmacy Museum) - the Cottbus museums promise excitement for young and old alike.

Cottbus houses
© TVS | Peter Becker

Events in Cottbus

A visit to the opera, ballet, theatre or concert at the Cottbus State Theatre is particularly recommended. But the piccolo theatre for children and young people, the musical-literary revues in the TheaterNative C or the carefully restored over 100-year-old Weltspiegel film theatre also complement Cottbus' cultural offerings. The Stadthalle Cottbus, the largest event venue in southern Brandenburg, is the venue for many stars and starlets. Consumer exhibitions and markets are held regularly at the Cottbus Trade Fair Centre directly next to the Spreeauenpark. Only a few steps away, football fans can enjoy all the home games of FC Energie Cottbus at the Stadion der Freundschaft.

Info

Tourist Information Cottbus

Stadthalle Cottbus Berliner Platz 6, 03046 Cottbus Tel. 0355 75420 cottbus-service@cmt-cottbus.de www.cottbus-tourismus.de

Brass instruments women and men playing in orchestra
© TVS | Peter Becker