Borders
Forgotten Border Towns
Görlitz in Germany ends at the Neisse river. On the other side is Zgorzelec, Poland. The two halves used to be one town: until 1945 it was all called Görlitz, the easternmost German city. Then the Potsdam Conference moved the border to the Oder-Neisse line and the eastern bank was Polish overnight. Today they're connected by a pedestrian bridge; you can drink German lager on one side, walk 50 m, and eat Polish pierogi on the other. The synagogue (1911) on the German side is shared by both communities.
These eight border towns sit on lines drawn by treaty in living memory. Some are still working frontier posts; some are deserted because the border has closed; some are dual towns where the citizens speak two languages and shop in whichever country has cheaper cigarettes that week.
Below: what's on each side, where to sleep, and whether you actually need a visa.
Late afternoon light, looking east. Photo by our regional correspondent.
Why This Place Matters
Görlitz/Zgorzelec, Germany/Poland — divided by the 1945 Oder-Neisse line; pedestrian Old Town bridge connects both halves.
Narva/Ivangorod, Estonia/Russia — two opposing 13th–16th-century castles staring at each other across the Narva river. The Schengen border is the river itself.
Comino, Italy/Slovenia (Nova Gorica) — Italian Gorizia and Slovenian Nova Gorica share a single Trg Evrope square that was cut in half in 1947 and reunited in 2007 when Slovenia joined Schengen.
A Short History
Slubice/Frankfurt (Oder) — a German university town split in 1945; the right bank of the Oder became Polish overnight. The Viadrina European University was founded in 1991 to symbolically reunite the two halves; students attend classes on both sides.
Narva was held by Sweden 1581–1704, by Russia from 1704, by independent Estonia 1918–1940, by the USSR 1940–1991, and by Estonia again since 1991. The 95% ethnic Russian-speaking population still has Russian as their first language.
Goris, Armenia — was the gateway to the Iranian border at Meghri (Norduz crossing); since the Azerbaijani recapture of the Lachin corridor in 2022, Goris has been on the frontline of a complicated three-country dispute.
What You Will Actually See
Görlitz, Germany — Untermarkt (Renaissance square), the Heiliges Grab (a 15th-century scale model of Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre), the Synagoge Görlitz reopened 2021. Cross the bridge to Zgorzelec for pierogi at U Marii.
Narva, Estonia — Hermann Castle (Estonian side) and the Ivangorod Fortress (Russian side, no entry currently). Walk the Aleksander promenade for the dual-castle view.
Nova Gorica/Gorizia — Trg Evrope/Piazza Transalpina square with the marble border line; Kostanjevica monastery on the Slovenian side; the Italian/Slovenian War Museum.
Slubice — the Collegium Polonicum (the bilingual Viadrina campus), the Polish town museum, Pizzeria Włoska (where the German students cross over for cheaper pizza).
Hay-on-Wye, Wales/England — the bookshop town that uses the actual England-Wales border as the divide between the children's section (Welsh side) and the secondhand section (English).
Lo Manthang, Nepal/China — walled medieval Tibetan kingdom 25 km from the Chinese border, requires a Mustang restricted-area permit.
Sankt Goarshausen/Sankt Goar — twin towns either side of the Rhine, with the Lorelei rock between them.
Goris, Armenia — old town with troglodyte cave-dwellings, Tatev monastery 50 km south (via the world's longest reversible cable car), and the Iranian-border crossing at Meghri.
The kind of detail you only notice on the second visit.
Interesting Facts
A few quick notes on forgotten border towns before the section below.
These are the details our correspondents most often get asked about by readers planning a trip.
Practical Information
Görlitz — combine the German and Polish halves on the same day; the pedestrian bridge is open 24h. Stay at Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten on the German side.
Narva — currently sensitive due to the war; only nationals can cross to Russia, and most westerners should not attempt it. The Estonian-side Hermann Castle is fully open.
Nova Gorica — Italian Gorizia is a 20-min train ride from Slovenian Nova Gorica via Aidovščina line.
Slubice — the Frankfurt (Oder) train station is in Germany; walk over the bridge (5 min) into Poland.
Interesting Facts
- Görlitz is Germany's easternmost city and was Europe's first 'European City' designation when paired with Polish Zgorzelec.
- Narva's two opposing castles — Hermann Castle (Estonian) and Ivangorod Fortress (Russian) — were both built in the 13th–15th centuries and are the closest fortified opposing castles in Europe.
- Nova Gorica and Gorizia were physically divided by the 1947 Treaty of Paris and rejoined Schengen in 2007; the marble line crossing Trg Evrope was preserved as a memorial.
- Slubice's Viadrina European University, founded in 1991 in Frankfurt (Oder), is the only bilingual cross-border university in the EU.
- Lo Manthang in Mustang, Nepal, was a closed kingdom until 1992 and still requires a special $500 ten-day Restricted Area Permit to enter.
Most travellers walk straight past this corner. Stop and look up.
How To Visit
Berlin → Görlitz: 4-hour ODEG regional train, €27.
Tallinn → Narva: 2h30 by GoBus, €15.
Trieste → Gorizia: 30-min train, €4.50.
Yerevan → Goris: 4h shared taxi, AMD 3,500.
Final Thoughts
Border towns are unforgiving teachers about how arbitrary borders are. Görlitz is the same town as Zgorzelec; the Oder is the same river.
Visit Görlitz before Hollywood arrives: it's been used as a filming location for Inglourious Basterds, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and The Reader, but the locals call it 'Görliwood' with diminishing enthusiasm.
If we had to pick one: Görlitz/Zgorzelec on the same Saturday. Breakfast at the Synagoge Café, lunch across the bridge, both currencies in your pocket.
If you read this article and noticed something we got wrong, please write to us. Reader corrections shape what we publish next.
Julien Beaumont
Regional correspondent for WIGO Trips. Writes about overlooked places and quiet histories.
