Dom Jakuba Böhme (Jakob Böhme House)

The mystic's townhouse in the heart of Zgorzelec

Dom Jakuba Böhme stands in the very centre of Zgorzelec, in the Przedmieście Nyskie district on Daszyńskiego Street. Jakob Böhme — a shoemaker by trade and a mystic and philosopher by vocation, whose writings shaped European religious thought — lived here for eleven years, from 1599 to 1610. The site is looked after by the Lusatian Museum in Zgorzelec.

What to see

The interiors hold a permanent exhibition devoted to the thinker: his biography, his shoemaking craft and the reception of his works in later centuries. The building itself is just as interesting — rebuilt several times after city fires, it owes its present shape to renovations of the 18th and 19th centuries. The unusual layout stands out, with the number of rooms increasing on each higher floor.

Who it suits

A visit takes about an hour and works in any weather, children included. A tourist information point operates in the house, where you can plan a walk in Böhme's footsteps through Zgorzelec and neighbouring Görlitz — the two towns are linked by a bridge over the Lusatian Neisse.