Görlitz Department Store (Jugendstilkaufhaus)

The Görlitz Department Store (Kaufhaus) on Berliner Strasse is one of the finest surviving examples of German Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) commercial architecture, built in 1912-13 by the architect Carl Schmanns. The building's facade is elaborately decorated with ceramic tiles, figurative sculpture, and ornate ironwork, and the interior atrium — with its Art Nouveau staircase and glass ceiling — is breathtaking.

The building was used as a film set for several productions, most famously Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), in which it appears as the lobby of the fictional hotel. After decades of partial disuse following German reunification, the building has been partially restored and is now used as a combination of retail space, cultural venue, and event space. The interior is accessible during business hours and the atrium alone is worth the visit.

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A story
After the original Kaufhaus Görlitz closed in the 1990s, the building sat empty for years, deteriorating slowly. Its salvation came partly from Hollywood: the ornate Art Nouveau interior was used as a filming location for several movies, including Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, and the resulting international attention helped drive the restoration effort that eventually returned it to use.