Crostwitz: Sorbian Culture, Pilgrimage Route and KRABAT Cycle Route

If you are looking for a hotel in Crostwitz, considering the local routes and cultural connections can help with your travel planning. Crostwitz is regarded as a place where the Sorbian language and Catholic religious culture remain visible through bilingual signs, wayside crosses and everyday use of Sorbian. There is also a pilgrimage route, a cycle route and a historical walking tour. These offerings differ in theme and scale—from local history to a stage between Bautzen and St. Marienstern. This lets you consider before your trip which aspects of the place you would like to shape your stay.

Sorbian Culture and Routes Through Crostwitz

The Ecumenical Pilgrimage Route, part of the Via Regia and the Way of St. James, passes through Crostwitz on the 20.5 km stage between Bautzen and St. Marienstern. The 20.5 km refers to the entire stage between the two places; Crostwitz is the place it passes through.

Another perspective is offered by the KRABAT Cycle Route: it leads from Crostwitz via the Alte Ziegelscheune to St. Marienstern Abbey in Panschwitz-Kuckau. The Cistercian abbey was founded in 1248. Unlike the pilgrimage route, this is a cycling route that starts in Crostwitz and continues to the abbey.

Local History on Foot and a Seasonal Custom

A historical walking tour explores the character of the Sorbian village, its past, and its cultural, religious and social life. It is approximately 1 km long, takes about 90 minutes and can be conducted in German and/or Sorbian. This tour focused on local history offers a local perspective alongside the pilgrimage route stage between Bautzen and St. Marienstern.

The Sorbian Easter Riders procession is also associated with Crostwitz. It takes place on Easter Sunday and travels between Crostwitz and Panschwitz-Kuckau through the surrounding villages. If you would like to plan your trip around the procession, check the route and times for the relevant year.

Cycle Routes in the Wider Bautzen District Destination

In the wider Bautzen District destination, you can compare cycling routes by their course and scale. The Bautzen North Tour is a 43.1 km loop from Bautzen via Quatitz, Großdubrau, Milkel, Klix and Malschwitz, returning to Bautzen. It runs through the heath and pond landscape and along the nature trail in Crosta.

The Hill and Valley Route is also a regional loop, through the West Lusatian Hills in the Bautzen district. The Central Route is laid out differently: this long-distance cycle route runs from Zittau to Aachen; one section passes through the Upper Lusatian Highlands in the Bautzen district. The Spree Cycle Route runs from its source in Upper Lusatia to Berlin; the section from Taubenheim to Zerre lies in the Bautzen district. Thus, the Bautzen district has both regional loops and long-distance cycle routes with far-flung endpoints.

Discover more destinations: Elsterheide, Neukirch/Lausitz, Nebelschütz, Schwepnitz, Demitz-Thumitz, Großdubrau, Löbau, Guttau.

Back to the wider travel overview: Bautzen District.