Today G�rlitz and Zgorzelec, two towns on opposite banks of the narrow river, get along well. Two bridges have been rebuilt, a bus line connects the German and Polish parts of the town, and there is a common urban management, with annual joint sessions of both town councils.
The town has a rich architectural heritage (Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Historicist, Art Nouveau), which was � in contrast to most other historical German cities � never severely destroyed during World War II, except for the explosion of bridges and minor clashes. One example of this rich architectural heritage is the Sch�nhof, which is one of the oldest civic renaissance buildings in Germany. Another medieval heritage is a model of the Holy Sepulchre (de) which was constructed in the late 15th Century.
In 2006 the twin city G�rlitz/Zgorzelec applied to be the European City of Culture 2010 for an award. It was hoped that the concept of Polish-German cooperation would be sufficient to convince the jury, but Essen won the award. G�rlitz was placed second. As a result of the campaign G�rlitz was renamed City of Culture in order to further German-Polish relations and to attract tourists from all over the world.
As G�rlitz was part of Silesia from 1815 onward, it has a Silesian Museum dedicated to the region (Schlesisches Museum zu G�rlitz) and even holds a Silesian Music festival (Schlesisches Musikfest). In addition, G�rlitz is the seat of the Silesia Youth Group (Schlesische Jugend). There is also a newspaper in G�rlitz called the Lower Silesian Kurier (Niederschlesischer Kurier).
G�rlitz station is on the Berlin � G�rlitz and the Dresden � G�rlitz lines of Deutsche Bahn. The station also provides an international connection to Wroc?aw, Poland.
Due to the historical parts of the city, many movie-makers have used the various sites as backgrounds. Today the most prominent example is Quentin Tarantino who shot the movie-in-a-movie Stolz der Nation (Pride of the
