Gorlitz

Gorlitz, the capital of a circle in the district of Liegnitz, Prussian Silesia, stands an the left bank of the Neisse, 55 miles from Dresden on the railway to Breslau. It existed as the village of Drebenau until 1131, when it was burned down and rebuilt under its present name. As a strong fortress it played a considerable part in history, suffered much during the Thirty Years' and the Seven Years' Wars, and was the scene of a famous battle in 1757 between the Austrians and Prussians. More recently it has become a great commercial centre, and the population has increased six-fold in sixty years. The city is well-built and handsome, with two good fifteenth-century churches, fine modern buildings, including a school of commerce, a public park, and pleasant promenades. Cloth is the staple manufacture, but railway waggons and machinery, chemicals, linen fabrics, and leather are also produced.