A tripoint is a place where the borders of three countries meet. There are dozens of them on the map of Europe. The German-Czech-Polish tripoint is located at the confluence of the Lusatian Neisse and the Ullersbach (Oldřichovský potok). The state borders run in the middle of both watercourses. The tripoint is located just under 2 km from the town center of Hrádek nad Nisou and near the German town of Zittau. The nearest larger Polish town is Bogatynia.
The German-Czech-Polish tripoint is a witness to the changes Central Europe has undergone in the last 70 years. It was created only in 1945 based on the Potsdam Agreement. At that time, the border between Germany and Poland was shifted westwards to the Oder-Neisse line. The tripoint was inaccessible for many years thereafter. The state borders, although borders between friendly states of the former Eastern Bloc, were closed and heavily guarded. A change occurred only after 1989 with the opening of new border crossings. It has only been possible to visit this symbolic place since then.
In 2004, the tripoint was a witness to the “European moment of glory,” the grand celebration for the enlargement of the European Union. The process of border opening was completed in 2007 when the Czech Republic and Poland simultaneously joined the Schengen Area. The Czech-Polish border can be crossed via a footbridge over the Ullersbach. Until recently, the banks of the Neisse were connected by the Heavenly Bridge, which was located 200 meters downstream from the tripoint but was demolished due to its poor technical condition. Currently, the towns of Hrádek nad Nisou, Zittau, and Bogatynia are working on building a circular bridge directly over the confluence of both watercourses.
ATTRACTIONS: Zittau Lenten cloths, tripoint D/P/CZ on the Neisse, 3 border crossings
