Zielona Góra

Grunberg before the war, Zielona Góra is one of those cities that because of its Germanic architecture has a different look-and-feel to Polish cities further east. With 125,000 population, it's small for a provincial capital, a job it shares with Gorzów Wielkopolski further north. At the time of the local government reforms in 1999, I questioned the need for a Lubuskie province; historically, Zielona Góra has been part of Lower Silesia (Dolny Śląsk/Niederschliesien) while Gorzów, as second part of the name suggests, lies within Wielkopolskie as a historical region.

Above and below: The old town square in Zielona Góra. The town is low-rise and spread out over a large area for its small population.