We are traveling to Dresden next month to make a visit to Lommatzsch town as this is a family name. Should we rent a car and drive or should we hire a guide for the day that is familiar with the area? We have never visited the town and there is limited information on the web. Are there any restaurants recommended there and anything we should not miss? Also, is there any English spoken there? This has been a dream to visit Lommatzsch town and we don’t want to miss anything while there. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Green Bay
20085 posts
You can get there from Dresden by taking the S-Bahn to Meissen, then the local 416 bus.
My cursory research shows to be a very cute, well preserved town. There is a "Terence Hill" Museum, as he lived here as a child during WW II. Who is Terence Hill? I thought you'd never ask. It is the stage name of an Italian actor (Mario Girotti) who starred in many spaghetti westerns, alas, none with Clint Eastwood. But he did one with Henry Fonda.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8942 posts
Have you contacted the tourist info in this town? They should be able to hook you up with a guide, which will prove to be invaluable for your visit. If they don't have any guides, then try the TI in Dresden who might be able to help too, as many guides in larger cities also guide in small towns that are near-by.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you so much Sam and Ms. Jo. I sincerely appreciate your responses and tips! I will check all of these ideas out.
Posted by
Germany
868 posts
Lommatzsch is a unremarkable small town without real highlights. The town hall and the main church are quite nice, but that's it. The town is so small and unremarkable, that the rail connection was discontinued in 1998. So you have to take the bus from Meissen. Or a taxi. Or rent a car.
And the town doesn't even have a tourist information. Finding someone who speaks English will be difficult I guess.
BTW: the town is just one possible origin of your family name. And frankly not the most probable. A East Prussian origin is more likely. In East Prussia the name Lommatzsch was either a job title (fisher or hunter) or refered to a dwelling place (a low, wet patch). Most German surnames derive from job titles, and the town of Lommatzsch is very small, that's why I think a East Prussian connection is more plausible.
Did your ancestors come from Saxony? Saxony was rich in the 18th and 19th century, and not many people from there migrated to America.